Southwestern Oklahoma State University has turned to a neighboring school in Arkansas to find its new basketball coach, hiring Charlie Schaef on Tuesday as the new floor leader of the Bulldog program. The 39-year old Schaef, who has spent the previous eight seasons at Ouachita Baptist University, becomes only the 13th coach in the program's 100-year history.
Schaef has spent the last 10 seasons as a head coach first at the University of Arkansas- Monticello and later Ouachita. Both schools are NCAA Division II institutions and members of the Gulf South Conference. Before joining the OBU staff in 2001, Schaef presided over two UAM teams where he led the Boll Weevils to their first conference title in 45 years as winners of the Gulf South West Division Championship. Schaef was named the GSC Coach of the Year and the Chevrolet/National Association of Basketball Coaches South Region Coach of the Year that same season.
The move to Weatherford puts Schaef two hours away from his hometown of Canadian, Texas where both of his parents still reside. He is now back in the conference where he first began coaching as an assistant under Rick Cooper at West Texas A&M in the mid 1990's.
Schaef's strengths as a master tactician and as an innovator have long been known throughout the Division II circles. His dogged determination and tireless work ethic either on the recruiting trail or on the playing court are trademarks of his.
During his years at Ouachita, Schaef coached the Tigers to a 126-99 record including the school's first-ever Gulf South West Division Championship in 2007-08. The Tigers had their first 20-win season in more than two decades and advanced to the NCAA Division II National Tournament for the first time in school history. This past season the Tigers finished with a 13-14 record, which included four victories over LSC schools - Northeastern State University, Southeastern Oklahoma State University and Texas A&M University-Commerce, twice.
Many of Schaef's previous teams have featured an up-tempo style of offense which have been crowd pleasers. He relies on tough man-to-man pressure on defense that often acts as the catalyst for his transition game.
Schaef received his bachelor's degree in exercise science from Texas Tech in 1993. He later obtained his master's degree in physical education from Pittsburg State in 1995. He served as an assistant at the University of Texas-Pan American and Labette Community College before joining West Texas A&M in 1995. During his four years at WTAM, the Buffs won 81 games and advanced to the Elite 8 for the first time in school history.