Andy Sharpe was officially introduced as the second head coach in the modern era at UT Southern on August 8, 2024. He returns to Pulaski after spending 10 seasons as the head men’s basketball coach at NCAA Division II Southern Arkansas University (SAU).
A three-time conference Coach of the Year honoree (2007, 2011, 2012) and the 2011 Don Meyer Award Winner (NAIA National Coach of the Year) presented by CollegeInsider.com, Sharpe boasts a career record of 315-202 (.609) over his 17-year head coaching career.
Sharpe returns to Pulaski to lead a UT Southern program that posted a 27-6 record during the 2023-2024 campaign. The Firehawks peeked as high as No. 7 in the NAIA National Coaches' Poll, captured the Southern States Athletic Conference Regular Season Championship, and made its eleventh appearance in the NAIA National Tournament. Sharpe, however, has his work cut out for him as he must replace nine seniors, including all five starters, who donned the Firehawk uniform last season.
Known as a change agent throughout his career, Sharpe most recently took over an SAU basketball program in 2012 that had not seen a winning season in a decade. By his third year, Sharpe led the Muleriders to their first winning season since 2001-2002, which was highlighted by a notable early-season exhibition win over NCAA Division I Arkansas State University on the Red Wolves' home court. With a revitalized culture and renewed identity, Sharpe’s 2015-2016 team achieved a 17-13 overall record and a 13-9 mark in conference play. The 17 wins set a new NCAA Division II record for SAU, the most since the 1991-92 season, while the 13 conference wins were a DII-era best for the program.
Three years later, Sharpe's 2018-19 Muleriders set a new program record with a 19-10 overall record and 14 conference wins. That season, they also earned the program’s first-ever NABC Top 25 national ranking, climbing to No. 22 in the poll. During the 2020-21 season, Sharpe guided the Muleriders to unprecedented success, securing a GAC Eastern Division Co-Championship, a GAC Tournament runner-up finish, and the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, ending the COVID-shortened season with a 15-6 record.
In his final season at Southern Arkansas (2021-2022), Sharpe led the Muleriders to an 18-12 record and a semifinal appearance in the Great American Conference (GAC) Tournament, where they fell to eventual champion Southwestern Oklahoma State University. Sharpe left SAU following the 2021-2022 season after a historic 10-year tenure, compiling a 147-132 (.526) overall record. Sharpe leaves as the programs longest-tenured men’s basketball coach in the NCAA Division II era. His 147 wins rank him as the winningest coach in SAU’s NCAA Division II era and third in overall win in program history.
Sharpe consistently led SAU to postseason success, qualifying for the eight-team GAC Tournament every year of his tenure. His teams reached the semifinals three times and made the program’s first-ever GAC Tournament Championship Game appearance in 2021, along with their first NCAA Tournament berth. SAU remains the only team to qualify for the GAC Tournament every year since the conference’s inception.
In his ten seasons, Sharpe coached four 1000-point scorers, one All-America selection, one all-region honoree and nine different all-conference players with several of those earning multiple all-league honors as Muleriders in addition to seeing his players rewrite the program's record book over the past decade. Sharpe mentored the 2020-21 GAC Player and Defensive Player of the Year/unanimous All-GAC First Team selection Aaron Lucas, 2014-15 GAC Defensive Player of the Year/All-GAC First-Team selection Alre'k Brown, a pair of GAC Freshman of the Year winners in CJ Elkins (2015-16) and Jalen Brooks (2018-19) and two-time unanimous All-GAC First Team performer Devante Brooks. Elkins was named to the GAC's All-Decade Team in January of 2020.
"We can't thank Coach Sharpe enough for what he has meant to our men's basketball program," said Southern Arkansas Director of Athletics Steve Browning. "He revived our program and made it a national contender, something our university and community are incredibly proud of. His teams were always composed of quality student-athletes who represented SAU with class on and off the court. You can always measure someone's impact by the condition the program is left in compared to the condition in which it was found when he arrived. Without a doubt, Southern Arkansas University, Mulerider Basketball, the Magnolia community, and myself are all better because of Andy and Mandy Sharpe."
Prior to his time at SAU, Sharpe spent five years as the head coach at NAIA institution Martin Methodist College, where he again transformed the program into a national title contender. His RedHawks reached the NAIA National Tournament three times in his five seasons, advancing as far as the Final Four in 2010-11 before stepping down after leading the team to the Sweet Sixteen in 2011-2012. During his tenure, Sharpe compiled a 127-41 (.755) record and led Martin Methodist to two regular season crowns and two TranSouth Conference Tournament championships. His 2010-11 team set school records with a 34-3 finish and a No. 6 national ranking.
At Martin Methodist, Sharpe coached five All-America players, including two-time First Team honoree James Justice, who gained national attention as the “Dark Horse Dunker” at the 2012 Denny’s Slam Dunk Championship. Before his time at Martin Methodist, Sharpe began his collegiate coaching career at Emmanuel College in Franklin Springs, GA, in 2004-05. After serving as an assistant coach for one year, Sharpe took over as head coach prior to the start of the 2005-2006 season. The appointment of Sharpe paid immediate dividends for the Lions. Inheriting a team that went 4-28 the preceding season, Sharpe’s team improved to 14 wins in year one and a program-record 27 wins in year two as well as the program’s first Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) Tournament Championship Game Appearance.
Sharpe holds a B.S. in business administration from Reinhardt University (2002) and an M.Ed. in physical education from North Georgia College & State University (2006). He is married to Mandy Bonifacious of Tunnel Hill, GA, and they have a son, Asher, and two daughters, Ava and Addie-Jayne.
Coaching History
| Year |
School |
Overall Record |
Win Pct. |
Conf. Record |
Win Pct. |
Postseason |
| 2005-06 |
Emmanuel College |
14-18 |
.438 |
7-14 |
.333 |
|
| 2006-07 |
Emmanuel College |
27-11 |
.710 |
11-7 |
.611 |
|
| 2 Seasons |
Overall at Emmanuel College |
41-29 |
.586 |
18-21 |
.462 |
|
| Year |
School |
Overall Record |
Win Pct. |
Conf. Record |
Win Pct. |
Postseason |
| 2007-08 |
Martin Methodist College |
26-7 |
.788 |
16-4 |
.800 |
NAIA First Round |
| 2008-09 |
Martin Methodist College |
22-10 |
.688 |
9-7 |
.562 |
TSAC Semifinal |
| 2009-10 |
Martin Methodist College |
18-13 |
.581 |
6-10 |
.375 |
TSAC Quarterfinal |
| 2010-11 |
Martin Methodist College |
34-3 |
.919 |
14-2 |
.875 |
NAIA Semifinal |
| 2011-12 |
Martin Methodist College |
28-7 |
.800 |
13-3 |
.812 |
NAIA Second Round |
| 2024-25 |
Tennessee Southern |
13-15 |
.464 |
9-8 |
.529 |
SSAC Quarterfinal |
| 6 Seasons |
Overall at Tennessee Southern |
141-55 |
.719 |
67-34 |
.663 |
|
| Year |
School |
Overall Record |
Win Pct. |
Conf. Record |
Win Pct. |
Postseason |
| 2012-13 |
University of Southern Arkansas |
10-17 |
.370 |
6-14 |
.300 |
GAC Opening Round |
| 2013-14 |
University of Southern Arkansas |
12-16 |
.429 |
7-13 |
.350 |
GAC Semifinal |
| 2014-15 |
University of Southern Arkansas |
15-12 |
.556 |
11-9 |
.550 |
GAC Opening Round |
| 2015-16 |
University of Southern Arkansas |
17-13 |
.567 |
13-9 |
.591 |
GAC Semifinal |
| 2016-17 |
University of Southern Arkansas |
13-16 |
.448 |
11-11 |
.500 |
GAC Opening Round |
| 2017-18 |
University of Southern Arkansas |
15-14 |
.517 |
11-11 |
.500 |
GAC Opening Round |
| 2018-19 |
University of Southern Arkansas |
19-10 |
.655 |
14-8 |
.636 |
GAC Opening Round |
| 2019-20 |
University of Southern Arkansas |
13-16 |
.448 |
10-12 |
.455 |
GAC Opening Round |
| 2020-21 |
University of Southern Arkansas |
15-6 |
.714 |
12-4 |
.750 |
NCAA South Central Regional |
| 2021-22 |
University of Southern Arkansas |
18-12 |
.600 |
13-9 |
.591 |
GAC Semifinal |
| 10 Seasons |
Overall at Tennessee Southern |
188-161 |
.539 |
126-121 |
.510 |
|
| Seasons |
School |
Career Record |
Win Pct. |
Conf. Record |
Win Pct. |
|
| 2 |
Emmanuel College |
41-29 |
.586 |
18-21 |
.462 |
| 6 |
Tennessee Southern |
141-55 |
.791 |
67-34 |
.663 |
| 10 |
University of Southern Arkansas |
188-161 |
.539 |
126-121 |
.510 |
| 18 Seasons |
Career Overall |
370-245 |
.602 |
211-176 |
.545 |
Milestones at UTS
First Victory: vs Voorhees, 83-79 (Nov. 2, 2007)
First TSAC: at Lyon, 75-54 (Jan. 5, 2008)
First in TSAC Tournament: vs Freed-Hardeman, 97-84 (Mar. 6, 2008)
First SSAC: vs Bethel, 6-0 (Oct. 1, 2016)
First in SSAC Tournament: vs Faulkner, 4-2 (Nov. 4, 2016)
First MSC: at Bethel, 3-1 (Feb. 23, 2021)
First in MSC Tournament: vs Cumberland, 2-0 (Apr. 3, 2021)
First in NAIA Opening Round: vs Park, 7-2 (Nov. 19, 2016)
First vs NAIA Top-25 Opponent: vs #10 Vanguard, 4-2 (Aug. 24, 2016)
First vs NAIA Top-10 Opponent: vs #10 Vanguard, 4-2 (Aug. 24, 2016)
First vs NAIA Top-5 Opponent: at #3 William Carey, 2-1 (Oct. 15, 2016)
Win vs Highest-Ranked Opponent: vs #1 Spring Arbor, 2-0 (Sept. 16, 2017); vs #1 William Carey, 3-3 (5-4 PK) (Dec. 6, 2021)
Highest NAIA Coaches' Poll Ranking: #1 (Polls 3-7 & 9-10, 2017, Postseason Poll, 2021, Preseason Poll, 2022)
Total NAIA Coaches' Polls Appeared in: 85 (10, 2016; 12, 2017; 12, 2018; 12, 2019; 5, 2020; 12, 2021; 11, 2022; 11, 2023)
Consecutive NAIA Coaches' Polls Appeared in: 85 (10, 2016; 12, 2017; 12, 2018; 12, 2019; 5, 2020; 12, 2021; 11, 2022; 11, 2023)
Longest Win Streak: 18 (Oct. 13, 2020- Apr. 17, 2021)
25th Win at UTS: vs Brewton-Parker, 11-0 (Oct. 5, 2017)
50th Win at UTS: vs Dalton State, 6-1 (Oct. 27, 2018)
75th Win at UTS: at Mobile, 3-0 (Jan. 30, 2021)
100th Win at UTS: vs Thomas More, 5-0 (Oct. 16, 2021)
