Jim Wooldridge is entering his sixth season as head coach of the UC Riverside Men’s Basketball program after being named the sixth head coach in team history on May 2, 2007.
The Oklahoma City native inherited a program that went 7-24 with one win in Big West Conference play in 2006-07 and had yet to experience a winning season since making the transition to Division I in 2001-02.
During his first year at the helm, Wooldridge and the team exceeded all expectations by finishing seventh in the league and defeating Cal Poly 62-54 in the First Round of the conference tournament for just the second Big West Tournament win in the program’s history.
The following year saw the Highlanders cement their standing as a team on the rise in the Big West breaking numerous Division I-era program records including posting the team’s first-ever winning season (17-13), winning the most games ever at home (11) and on the road (6), winning the most conference games ever (8) and finishing in a tie for fourth place in the Big West.
The 2008-09 Highlanders also ranked 27th in the nation in scoring defense (60.6 ppg), 38th in three-point field goal percentage (37.7%) and 60th in rebound differential (+3.4).
Sophomore swingman Kyle Austin added another first to the Highlanders record books when, at seasons’ end, he was rewarded with a First-Team, All-Conference nod—the first such Big West accolade in the program’s history.
Two years later, UC Riverside once again made Division I history as the Highlanders upset second seeded Cal Poly in the first round of the 2011 conference tournament advancing to the semifinals in Big West postseason play for the first time ever. The 2011-12 squad entered its name in the record books by earning its highest seed ever for the Big West Conference Tournament.
Teamwork, defense and tough rebounding have historically characterized the hallmarks of Wooldridge’s squads. His 20-plus year career includes stops as head coach at Central Missouri State, Texas State, Louisiana Tech and Kansas State and two years as an assistant with the Chicago Bulls.
Prior to joining the Highlanders, Wooldridge spent six years at Kansas State, leading the Wildcats to their first winning season in six years in 2004-05 when the team posted a 17-12 mark in the Big 12. His teams never finished with fewer than 11 wins and his 83 wins ranks sixth on Kansas State’s all-time wins list.
Wooldridge saw six players earn All-Big 12 honors and coached 2004 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Jeremiah Massey. Guard Larry Reid (2002), forwards Cartier Martin (2006, 2007) and Jeremiah Massey (2005) each earned All-Big 12 second team honors during their careers.
From 1998-2000, Wooldridge worked as an assistant coach with the Chicago Bulls under former college teammate Tim Floyd. He was instrumental in the development of several top NBA players, including 1999-2000 Co-Rookie of the Year Elton Brand and Ron Artest, who earned All-Rookie team honors that same year. He was considered the staff authority on the triangle offense, having taught it at Louisiana Tech, and learning it from friend and triangle “guru” Tex Winter.
Wooldridge began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Louisiana Tech in the 1977-78 season, and then spent four years as an assistant at NAIA East Central State. He returned to the NCAA in 1982 as a member of Lynn Nance’s staff at Division II Central Missouri State, where he was the program’s chief recruiter.
When Nance left following the 1985 season, Wooldridge was named head coach. He led the team to 20-or-more wins four times, including a 27-6 season in which they lost to CSU Bakersfield in the NCAA Finals. Wooldridge is the only coach in CMSU history to record back-to-back 25-win seasons. For his efforts, Wooldridge was inducted into the Central Missouri State Athletic Hall of Fame on February 28, 2004.
He made his Division I head coaching debut when he was hired at Texas State (then Southwest Texas State) in 1991-92. He turned around a program that had suffered through seven consecutive sub-.500 seasons, getting the program above .500 in his second year. By his third season, the squad was 25-7 and made its first trip to the NCAA Tournament.
From there, Wooldridge was hired at his alma mater, Louisiana Tech. He took over a program that won just nine games the previous two years combined and guided the Bulldogs to a pair of winning seasons in his first three campaigns, including a 14-13 record in his first year. It was a remarkable improvement considering Louisiana Tech was coming off NCAA probation and a 2-25 record the previous season (1993-94). Even more impressive was the fact that the Bulldogs posted a .500 conference record that year after going winless in Sun Belt play the year before (0-18).
Wooldridge played on Putnam City (OK) High School’s class 4A state championship team in 1972. He earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Louisiana Tech in 1977, and then earned a master’s degree in education from East Central University in 1979. Wooldridge and his wife, Ann, have two children, Jamie and Eric.
