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After serving as the head coach at South Carolina State for three years, Ben Betts resigned his position in May 2006 to be reunited with Jeff Capel and is now in his fourth year as an Oklahoma assistant coach.
An assistant under Capel at VCU during the 2002-03 season when the Rams went 18-10 overall and 12-6 in the Colonial Athletic Association, Betts, 40, guided his three South Carolina State teams to a combined 51-39 (.567) overall record and a 36-18 (.667) Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference mark.
Betts, whose three SCSU squads all made conference tournament semifinals appearances, coached his first team to an 18-11 record and the 2004 MEAC regular season title. The Bulldogs posted a 19-12 record in 2004-05 and notched a 20-point win over Big Ten member Penn State and a 10-point victory over the ACC's Miami (Fla.). They finished 14-16 in 2005-06.
Prior to his one-year stint at VCU, Betts spent five seasons (1998-2002) as an assistant coach at College of Charleston under John Kresse where he helped the Cougars to a 119-31 (.793) record and a 64-16 (.800) conference mark. College of Charleston made NCAA Tournament appearances in 1998 and 1999 and won conference or division crowns each of his five years there. A win over third-ranked North Carolina highlighted a 1998-99 campaign that saw the Cougars go 28-3 overall and 16-0 in the Southern Conference. They finished the year ranked No. 16 in the AP poll.
| The Betts File | |
|---|---|
| Birthdate | August 5, 1968 |
| Hometown | Madison Heights, Va. |
| High School | Amherst County, 1986 |
| College | Roanoke, 1990 |
| Coaching History |
|---|
| 2006-present, Oklahoma Assistant Coach |
| 2004-06, South Carolina State Head Coach |
| 2003, Virginia Commonwealth Assistant Coach |
| 1998-2002, College of Charleston Assistant Coach |
| 1991-97, South Carolina State Assistant Coach |
| Feb.-Oct. 1995, SCSU Interim Head Coach |
| Playing Experience |
|---|
| 1987-90, Roanoke College |
Before his College of Charleston term, Betts spent seven seasons (1991-97) as an assistant at South Carolina State under longtime head coach Cy Alexander. Included was a stint as interim head coach from February to October in 1995.
During his initial tenure at SCSU, the Bulldogs posted five winning seasons, including a 22-8 record in 1995-96 when the squad tied for the MEAC regular season title, won the conference tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Betts, a Madison Heights, Va., native, graduated with a bachelor of science degree in physical education from Roanoke College in 1990. As a player, he was a four-year letterwinner at Roanoke and led the Maroons to the NCAA Division III playoffs in the 1986-87 season.
Betts earned a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling from South Carolina State in 1997.