The University of Tennessee Southern

Andy Sharpe enters his seventh season, third season of second stint, as the head men's basketball coach at the University of Tennessee Southern in 2026-27 after being introduced as the second head coach of the modern Firehawk era on August 8, 2024.

Sharpe returned to Pulaski following a highly successful 10-year tenure as head coach at NCAA Division II Southern Arkansas University (SAU), bringing with him nearly two decades of head coaching experience and a proven track record of rebuilding programs and developing championship cultures. A three-time conference Coach of the Year (2007, 2011, 2012) and recipient of the 2011 Don Meyer Award as the NAIA National Coach of the Year, Sharpe owns a career record of 370-245 (.602).

Sharpe inherited a UT Southern program coming off one of the most successful seasons in school history. The Firehawks finished 27-6 during the 2023-24 campaign, climbed as high as No. 7 in the NAIA Coaches' Poll, captured the Southern States Athletic Conference Regular Season Championship, and advanced to their 11th NAIA National Tournament appearance. His first challenge in Pulaski was rebuilding a roster that lost nine seniors, including all five starters.

Known throughout his career as a program builder, Sharpe transformed Southern Arkansas into one of the Great American Conference's most consistent programs. When he arrived in Magnolia in 2012, the Muleriders had not posted a winning season in more than a decade. By his third season, SAU earned its first winning record since 2001-02, highlighted by an exhibition victory over NCAA Division I Arkansas State.

Sharpe continued to elevate the program over the following years. His 2015-16 team finished 17-13 overall and 13-9 in conference play, setting new NCAA Division II-era program records for overall and conference victories. In 2018-19, the Muleriders established another school standard with 19 wins, recorded 14 conference victories, and earned the program's first-ever NABC Top 25 national ranking, reaching No. 22.

During the 2020-21 season, Sharpe guided SAU to unprecedented success, winning the Great American Conference Eastern Division Co-Championship, finishing as GAC Tournament runner-up, and earning the program's first NCAA Division II Tournament appearance. The Muleriders concluded the COVID-shortened season with a 15-6 record.

In his final season at Southern Arkansas, Sharpe led the Muleriders to an 18-12 record and another GAC Tournament semifinal appearance. He concluded his 10-year tenure with a 147-132 (.526) record, becoming the winningest coach in the program's NCAA Division II history and ranking third all-time in overall victories. Sharpe also became the longest-tenured men's basketball coach of the NCAA Division II era at SAU.

Under Sharpe's leadership, Southern Arkansas qualified for the Great American Conference Tournament every season, making three semifinal appearances, one championship game appearance, and the program's first NCAA Tournament berth. The Muleriders remain the only school to qualify for every GAC Tournament since the conference's inception.

Sharpe's impact extended beyond team success. He coached four 1,000-point scorers, an All-American, an all-region selection, and nine different All-GAC performers. Among his most decorated players were 2020-21 GAC Player and Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Lucas, 2014-15 GAC Defensive Player of the Year Alre'k Brown, GAC Freshmen of the Year CJ Elkins and Jalen Brooks, and two-time unanimous First Team All-GAC selection Devante Brooks. Elkins was also named to the GAC All-Decade Team.

Prior to Southern Arkansas, Sharpe spent five seasons as head coach at Martin Methodist College in Pulaski, where he built the RedHawks into a perennial NAIA national contender. He compiled a 127-41 (.755) record while leading Martin Methodist to three NAIA National Tournament appearances, including a Final Four run in 2010-11 and a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2011-12. His teams also captured two TranSouth Conference regular season championships and two conference tournament titles.

Sharpe's 2010-11 squad finished 34-3, set a school record for victories, and earned a No. 6 national ranking. During his tenure, he coached five NAIA All-Americans, including two-time First Team All-American James Justice, who gained national recognition as the "Dark Horse Dunker" during the 2012 Denny's Slam Dunk Championship.

Sharpe began his collegiate head coaching career at Emmanuel College in Franklin Springs, Georgia. After serving one season as an assistant, he became head coach before the 2005-06 season. He immediately revitalized the Lions, improving the team from four wins the previous year to 14 victories in his first season before leading Emmanuel to a program-record 27 wins and its first Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament championship game appearance in year two.

Sharpe earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from Reinhardt University in 2002 and his master's degree in physical education from North Georgia College & State University in 2006.

He and his wife, Mandy, have one son, Asher, and two daughters, Ava and Addie-Jayne.