Porter Moser has accepted offer to be the Oklahoma head coach

Porter Moser, who led Loyola Chicago to the Final Four in 2018 and then back to the Sweet Sixteen in 2021, has accepted the job as head coach at Oklahoma, the school announced Saturday. He was 188-141 in ten seasons at Loyola (99-36 over the last four) and won three Missouri Valley titles.

“We are absolutely thrilled to announce and welcome Porter Moser as our next great OU head coach,” said AD Joe Castiglione in the release. “As we dug deep into the backgrounds of candidates, his attributes, acumen and record of success totally aligned with what we were seeking. He’s a purposeful and proven leader who prioritizes positive culture, accountability, academics, player development, innovation, transparent communication and a holistic approach to the student-athlete experience.”

This is the fourth head coaching job for Moser but the first in a power conference, as he also coached previously at Illinois State (2003-07) and Arkansas-Little Rock (2000-03). Originally from the Chicago area, Moser spent two stints and six years total as an assistant at Texas A&M back when the program was still in the Big 12.

“Our family is so excited and honored to join the Sooner family,” Moser said. “Joe Castiglione has a reputation for building championship programs at the University of Oklahoma. I’ve always said there are reasons why you win. If you look at the standards that the programs at Oklahoma have set, there are reasons why they’ve won. The coaches, infrastructure and community are all championship caliber. You just want to be a part of that. To play in a premiere league like the Big 12 and be a part of this championship culture excites me.”

Oklahoma has been to seven of the last eight NCAA Tournaments and was in the Final Four as recently as 2016. Former head coach Lon Kruger announced his retirement last month after ten seasons with the program, making OU a potentially safer landing spot than some of the other high-major programs courting Moser that had fired their previous coaches due to poor performance.

credit to Oklahoma Athletics for the image