By
Jim Christian, the Mid-American Conference all-time leader in winning percentage, has been named the 12th men’s basketball coach at Boston College.
Christian spent the last two seasons as head coach at Ohio University, leading the Bobcats to an overall 49-22 record. In his first season at the helm, Ohio went 24-10 and won the MAC regular-season championship, earning a bid to the National Invitational Tournament while Christian was named the NABC District 14 Coach of the Year. This past year saw the Bobcats go 25-12 and advance to the quarterfinals of the College Insider Tournament.
The MAC has been home to Christian for eight of his 12 years as a head coach. He spent six seasons with Kent State from 2002-08, compiling a record of 138-58 (.704) and leading the Golden Flashes to five postseason appearances. He earned MAC Coach of the Year honors in 2006 and 2008, both times leading Kent State to the conference title and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Flashes earned NIT berths in each of his first three seasons.
Christian holds the best winning percentage in MAC history (.700) and has reached 20 wins in all eight of his seasons in the conference.
“Jim Christian brings three remarkable traits to Boston College basketball,” said Director of Athletics Brad Bates. “First, he sincerely cares about his student-athletes and will be a catalyst for their development as basketball players, scholars, servers and leaders, while creating a family culture that brings pride to the BC community. Second, his energy is contagious and his passion inspiring, which will resonate throughout our program. Finally, he is a proven winner with a career winning percentage of 70.2 and three conference championships.
“We are very excited to have Jim Christian leading Boston College basketball, and look forward to an extraordinary future.”
Christian also spent four seasons as the head coach at Texas Christian. In his final season, he led the Horned Frogs to an 18-15 record and an appearance in the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Invitational.
Christian served as an assistant coach for Kent State in 2001-02 when they advanced to the Elite Eight. Prior to that, Christian was a college basketball talent evaluator at Octagon Sports Marketing and Management. His resume also includes a stint as an assistant coach at Pittsburgh from 1996-99 under Ralph Willard – now associate head coach for 2013 national champion Louisville – and coaching stops at Miami (Ohio), Western Kentucky and St. Francis (Pa.).
A native of Bethpage, NY, Christian played two seasons at Boston University before transferring to Rhode Island to finish his collegiate career under coach Tom Penders. He guided the Rams to the Sweet Sixteen in the 1988 NCAA Tournament.