Cliff Warren (born March 8, 1968) is an American college basketball coach who is currently an assistant coach for the SMU Mustangs. He previously served as the head coach for Jacksonville University.

Cliff Warren
Current position
TitleAssistant Coach
TeamSMU
ConferenceThe American
Biographical details
Born (1968-03-08) March 8, 1968 (age 56)
Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.
Playing career
1986–1990Mount St. Mary's
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1994–1997Mount St. Mary's (asst.)
1997–2000Siena (asst.)
2000–2005Georgia Tech (asst.)
2005–2014Jacksonville
2014–2017Maryland (asst.)
2017–2019UMass (assoc. head)
2019–2022Georgia State (asst.)
2022–presentSMU (asst.)
Head coaching record
Overall126–150 (.457)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2x Atlantic Sun regular season (2009, 2010)
Awards
Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year (2009)

Playing career

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Born in Silver Spring, Maryland, Warren played collegiately at Mount St. Mary's University from 1986 to 1990. Warren was a two-year starter for the Mountaineers, where he finished his career ranked in the top five in assists and top 50 in scoring in the school record book. As a senior in 1989–90, he averaged 10.4 points and 5.0 assists per game, while leading The Mount to its first winning season at the Division I level.

Assistant coach

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Warren returned to his alma mater in 1994 to take his first coaching job as an assistant under Jim Phelan.

Warren then served from 1997 to 2000 as an assistant at Siena under Paul Hewitt. Warren spent five years under Paul Hewitt at Georgia Tech. Warren was a part of the coaching staff that led the Yellow Jackets to the 2004 national championship game, losing to UConn.

Jacksonville University

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Warren was hired as head basketball coach at Jacksonville University in 2005, following the retirement of legendary coach Hugh Durham.

Warren's first year at Jacksonville saw the Dolphins finish the season with only eight healthy players. They struggled to a 1–26 record, the worst performance in school history. In Warren's second year, the Dolphins pulled off the biggest turnaround in the country – improving from one win to a 15–14 record and a third-place finish in the Atlantic Sun Conference.[1]

The Dolphins reached the finals of the 2008 Atlantic Sun men's basketball tournament, losing to Belmont.

The following year, the Dolphins won their first Atlantic Sun Conference regular-season basketball championship. They also made their first trip to the postseason since 1987 as the Dolphins received an automatic bid to the NIT.[2]

In 2009–10, the Dolphins returned to the NIT and faced the top-seeded Arizona State Sun Devils in the first round. Jacksonville knocked off the Sun Devils on a 3-pointer by guard Ben Smith with 1.5 seconds left. It gave the Dolphins their first postseason win in eight games going back to the 1974 NIT. Jacksonville also reached 20 wins for the first time since 1986.[3]

In 2010–11, the Dolphins finished with a 20–12 overall record, earning wins over Auburn and Florida. The Dolphins had back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1973–74. They were invited to the 2011 CollegeInsider.com Tournament, Jacksonville defeated East Carolina before falling to SMU in the second round.[4]

After a 12–18 season in 2013–14, Warren's contract was not renewed by Athletic Director Brad Edwards.[5] He was 126–150 and 89–79 in the Atlantic Sun Conference in nine seasons at the helm of the Dolphins.

Team USA

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Warren was an assistant coach for Team USA at the 2011 FIBA Under-19 World Championship.[6]

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Jacksonville Dolphins (Atlantic Sun Conference) (2005–2014)
2005–06 Jacksonville 1–26 1–19 11th
2006–07 Jacksonville 15–14 11–7 T–3rd
2007–08 Jacksonville 18–13 12–4 2nd
2008–09 Jacksonville 18–14 15–5 1st NIT 1st Round
2009–10 Jacksonville 20–13 14–6 T–1st NIT 2nd Round
2010–11 Jacksonville 20–12 13–7 3rd CIT 2nd Round
2011–12 Jacksonville 8–22 6–12 T–8th
2012–13 Jacksonville 14–18 9–9 T–4th
2013–14 Jacksonville 12–18 8–10 7th
Jacksonville: 126–150 (.457) 89–79 (.530)
Total: 126–150 (.457)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. ^ "Men's Basketball – CoachesCliff Warren – Jacksonville University Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on 2011-10-07. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
  2. ^ "Dolphins win conference title".
  3. ^ "Jacksonville vs. Arizona State – Game Recap – March 16, 2010 – ESPN". Archived from the original on May 10, 2012.
  4. ^ "USA Basketball: Cliff Warren". Archived from the original on 2011-06-12. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
  5. ^ "Cliff Warren Out Jacksonville University Basketball Coach". jacksonville.com. March 14, 2024.
  6. ^ "USA Basketball: St. Mary's Randy Bennett and Jacksonville's Cliff Warren Named Assistant Coaches for 2011 USA Basketball Men's U19 World Championship Team". Archived from the original on 2011-07-04. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
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