Quick Facts
Biography
Patrick Brian "Pat" Chambers (born December 13, 1970) is an American college basketball coach and the current head men's basketball coach at Penn State University. He was hired on June 3, 2011.
Born in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Chambers played collegiate basketball at Philadelphia University. Despite joining the team without a scholarship, he left it as the starting point guard and the team record-holder in assists. He is currently 7th all-time in steals and led the team to four NCAA Division II Sweet 16 appearances and two Elite Eight finishes.
Chambers took over for Dennis Wolff as the head coach at Boston University following the 2008–09 season. He was previously the associate head coach at Villanova University. He started at Villanova as director of operations in May 2004. He was promoted to assistant coach after one season and finally Associate Head Coach in June 2008. Prior to Villanova, Chambers was an assistant at Philadelphia University, Delaware Valley College and Episcopal Academy. In his first season at BU, Chambers led the Terriers to a 21–14 overall record and an 11–5 mark in league play. The Terriers fell just short of an America East Tournament Championship after falling to University of Vermont 83–70 on March 13, 2010. The team did qualify for the 3rd annual College Basketball Invitational and won their first postseason game since 1959. They also hosted the first postseason game in program history, defeating Morehead State University in overtime at Case Gymnasium.
In Chambers' second season at Boston University, he again led the Terriers to a 21–14 overall mark, including a 12–4 mark in conference play. They defeated Stony Brook University at Agganis Arena to win their sixth conference title and clinch an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. They received a #16 seed and fell to the #1 seed Kansas Jayhawks in the first round by a score of 72–53. The game marked the Terriers' first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2002.
Penn State announced Chambers as the 12th head coach in Nittany Lion basketball history in June 2011. He hit the ground running traveling 10,500 miles in his first eight days on the job to visit returning and incoming players and energizing the fan base with his passionate and positive style. He took over a team that returned one starter and just two players with significant playing experience. In his first season, he guided junior guard Tim Frazier to first-team All-Big Ten honors (just the sixth player in program history to earn first team honors) as he produced the second largest scoring improvement in the Big Ten in the past 15 years going from 6.3 ppg as a sophomore to 18.8 ppg as a junior while leading the Big Ten in assists (6.2) and finishing second in scoring and steals (2.4). The Lions posted a 12–20 record and knocked off one ranked opponent (No. 22 Illinois).
Chambers and his wife Courtney have 4 children, Grace, Ryan, Caitlyn, and Patrick Jr.
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston University Terriers (America East Conference) (2009–2011) | |||||||||
| 2009–10 | Boston University | 21–14 | 11–5 | 4th | CBI Semifinal | ||||
| 2010–11 | Boston University | 21–14 | 12–4 | 2nd | NCAA First Round | ||||
| Boston University: | 42–28 (.600) | 23–9 (.719) | |||||||
| Penn State Nittany Lions (Big Ten Conference) (2011–present) | |||||||||
| 2011–12 | Penn State | 12–20 | 4–14 | T–11th | |||||
| 2012–13 | Penn State | 10–21 | 2–16 | 12th | |||||
| 2013–14 | Penn State | 16–18 | 6–12 | T–10th | CBI Quarterfinal | ||||
| 2014–15 | Penn State | 18–16 | 4–14 | 13th | |||||
| 2015–16 | Penn State | 16–16 | 7–11 | 10th | |||||
| 2016–17 | Penn State | 15–18 | 6–12 | T–12th | |||||
| Penn State: | 87–109 (.444) | 29–78 (.271) | |||||||
| Total: | 129–137 (.485) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||