Ouachita Stories

Charlie Schaef, head men’s basketball coach at Ouachita Baptist University since 2001, has announced his resignation. He has accepted a position as head men’s basketball coach at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford.

Schaef, who compiled a record of 126 wins and 99 losses in his eight years at Ouachita, led the Tigers to a 20-win season in 2007-08. That season, which marked OBU’s first 20-win record in more than 20 years, also included the Tigers’ first Gulf South Conference West Division title since joining NCAA Division II and the team’s first-ever trip to the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament.

OBU Athletic Director David Sharp affirmed Schaef’s significant contributions during his eight seasons at Ouachita.

“Coach Schaef led his team to the regional tournament last year and qualified for the conference tournament five times,” Sharp noted. “During his tenure, he helped strengthen Ouachita’s proud basketball tradition and success.

“We hate to see Coach Schaef leave Ouachita,” Sharp said, “but we are thankful for his years of leadership here and we wish him the very best in his new coaching assignment.”

Schaef said his years at Ouachita were “a tremendous experience,” adding that “a lot of great people took me in and made me feel like family.

“I enjoyed working with all the coaches,” Schaef said, emphasizing that he especially appreciated the support of longtime basketball coach Bill Vining who coached the Tigers for 33 years until his retirement in 1989.

Meeting with his players to announce his resignation, Schaef said, “I told them in anything they do in life, when you go somewhere professionally, seek to leave the place better than you found it.”

He said he was pleased to have the opportunity to “restore a lot of tradition back to the men’s basketball program,” adding that “when you surround yourself with good people, good things happen.”

Schaef is a graduate of Texas Tech University and Pittsburg State University in Kansas. Prior to accepting the Ouachita head coaching position, he coached at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. While at Monticello, he was named GSC Coach of the Year and the National Association of Basketball Coaches South Region Coach of the Year. He previously served as an assistant coach at West Texas A&M and Labette Community College in Kansas.