Yahoo Sports Richmond men's basketball coach Chris Mooney to miss rest of season after he undergoes heart surgery
Richmond men's basketball will be without head coach Chris Mooney for the rest of the season after the school announced that he will undergo heart surgery next week. He will have a procedure to remove an aneurysm in his ascending aorta, the school said. Assistant head coach Peter Thomas will serve as interim head coach while Mooney recovers.
"The University of Richmond and Spider Athletics are committed to doing everything possible to support Chris on his path to a full recovery," Vice President and Director of Athletics John Hardt said. "Our main focus is ensuring that Chris has the time and space to prioritize his health and his family during this period. We look forward to having Chris back on campus leading Spider Basketball when he is fully recovered and ready to resume his duties."
Mooney has coached the Spiders since 2005 and is the winningest coach in school history, with 325 victories. He led Richmond to an Atlantic-10 championship in 2022 and a first-round upset over fifth-seeded Iowa in the NCAA tournament. The Spiders have made two other tournament appearances during Mooney's tenure: a first-round loss to Saint Mary's (Calif.) in 2010 and a semifinal loss to Kansas in 2011 after wins over Vanderbilt and Morehead State.
The Spiders fell to fourth-seeded Providence in the second round last year. This season, the Spiders sit 13-14 and 11th in the A-10 with a 6-8 conference record.
"I want to thank Richmond Athletics leadership, my coaching staff and our players for doing everything they can to make a difficult situation a little bit easier," Mooney said. "I'm grateful to have a tremendous medical team to rely on, and I'm thankful to have the opportunity to fully focus on my health for the next few weeks. During that time, I'm confident that Peter Thomas, the rest of our coaches and our players will rise to the challenge and have a successful end to the season."
