Rick Callahan begins his sixth season as an assistant coach with the TCU men's basketball program.
Callahan, who begins his 28th season in collegiate basketball, has been part of 17 postseason teams, nine that received NCAA Tournament berths and eight that played in National Invitation Tournament (NIT). In 2005, Callahan, who joined the Horned Frog program in May of 2002, helped TCU advance to the NIT quarterfinals in the team's first postseason appearance since 1999.
Callahan's association with TCU head coach Neil Dougherty dates back to 1988, when the two were assistant coaches in the Missouri Valley Conference, Callahan with Wichita State and Dougherty with Drake. The two then became even closer as assistant coaches under Eddie Fogler for six years, four at Vanderbilt and two at South Carolina.
"Rick brings a large amount of intensity and knowledge of how an entire program should be run - from academically to socially to athletically," Dougherty said. "He's had his hands in a lot of different areas and knows what it takes to get where we want to go."
Callahan came to Fort Worth to work alongside Dougherty after spending the 2001-02 season on Jerry Dunn's staff at Penn State. Prior to coaching with the Nittany Lions, Callahan spent the previous eight seasons (1993-2001) as a member of Fogler's staff at South Carolina.
Callahan began his coaching career at Syracuse under long-time mentor and Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim, whose Orangemen won the 2003 NCAA Championship. Callahan started as a graduate assistant in 1980 and was named an assistant coach in 1981. At Syracuse, he helped guide the Orangemen to four straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
After his six-year stint at Syracuse, Callahan moved on to Wichita State, where he teamed up with Fogler, the man with whom he would be associated for the next 15 years. Callahan joined Fogler at Wichita State in 1986 and moved on to Vanderbilt with Fogler in 1989.
Vanderbilt qualified for postseason play in each of their four seasons and grabbed the 1993 Southeastern Conference title with a school-best 28-6 record. The 1991 and 1993 squads played in the NCAA Tournament, and the `93 team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. In addition, the 1990 Commodores won the NIT.
From Nashville, Callahan made the jump to South Carolina with Fogler, where they led the Gamecocks to two NCAA appearances (1997, 1998) and the 1997 SEC Championship.
Callahan earned a bachelor of science degree in physical education from Salem College in West Virginia in 1980. He then earned a master's degree in exercise physiology from Syracuse in 1986. Callahan has two children, Shayla and Zachary.
