Rich Barnes was named the Head Men's Basketball Coach at the University of Tennessee in 2015 after coaching the University of Texas Men's Basketball team for 17 seasons. Before Texas, barnes previously coached at George Mason University, Providence College, and Clemson University.

Barnes' success at Texas, a traditional football powerhouse, sparked interest in college basketball at the university and throughout the state of Texas. Barnes was named Big 12 Coach of the Year multiple times. He won over 400 games at Texas and led Texas to their first #1 ranking in 2010.