Cliff Ellis is an American former college basketball coach, who finished his career as the head coach at Coastal Carolina University. Ellis finished his career as the ninth winningest coach in NCAA Division I history.
The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers are the athletic teams that represent Coastal Carolina University. They participate in Division I of the NCAA as a member of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) in most sports, having joined that conference as a full but non-football member on July 1, 2016. At that time, the football team began a transition from the second-level Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) to the top-level Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The team played the 2016 season as an FCS independent, joined SBC football for the 2017 season, and became full FBS members for 2018 and beyond. A Chanticleer is a proud and fierce rooster. Before joining the SBC, the Chanticleers had been members of the Big South Conference since that league's formation in 1983. Coastal fields varsity teams in 19 sports, 8 for men and 11 for women. The university regularly competed for the Sasser Cup, the Big South's trophy for the university with the best sports program among the member institutions, winning the trophy nine times, tied with rival Liberty University.
The 2009–10 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's basketball team represented Coastal Carolina University during the 2009–10 college basketball season. This was head coach Cliff Ellis's third season at Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers competed in the Big South Conference and played their home games at Kimbel Arena. They finished the season 28–7, 15–3 in Big South play to capture the regular season championship and lost in the championship game of the 2010 Big South Conference men's basketball tournament to Winthrop. As regular season champions they received an automatic bid to the 2010 National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to UAB.
The 2010–11 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's basketball team represented Coastal Carolina University during the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Chanticleers, led by fourth year head coach Cliff Ellis, played their home games at Kimbel Arena and are members of the Big South Conference. They won the Big South regular season championship for the second year in a row and hosted the semi-finals and championship game of the 2011 Big South Conference men's basketball tournament. They were defeated by UNC Asheville in the tournament final. As regular season champions who failed to win their conference tournament, the Chanticleers earned an automatic bid to the 2011 National Invitation Tournament where they were defeated in the first round by Alabama. They finished the season with a record of 28–6, 16–2 in Big South play.
The 2011–12 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's basketball team represented Coastal Carolina University during the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Chanticleers, led by fifth year head coach Cliff Ellis, played their home games at Kimbel Arena and are members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 19–12, 12–6 in Big South play to finish in second place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big South Basketball tournament to VMI. They were invited to the 2012 CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Old Dominion.
The 2012–13 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's basketball team represented Coastal Carolina University during the 2012–13 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Chanticleers, led by sixth year head coach Cliff Ellis, played their home games at the brand new HTC Center and were members of the South Division of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 14–15, 9–7 in Big South play to finish in fourth place in the South Division. They lost in the first round of the Big South tournament to Liberty.
The 2013–14 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's basketball team represented Coastal Carolina University during the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Chanticleers, led by seventh year head coach Cliff Ellis, played their home games at the HTC Center and were members of the South Division of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 21–13, 11–5 in Big South play to be champions of the South Division. They were also champions of the Big South Conference tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the second round to Virginia.
The 2014–15 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's basketball team represented Coastal Carolina University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Chanticleers, led by eighth year head coach Cliff Ellis, played their home games at the HTC Center and were members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 24–10, 12–6 in Big South play to finish in a three-way tie for third place. They defeated UNC Asheville, Gardner–Webb, and Winthrop to become champions of the Big South tournament. They earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Wisconsin.
The 2015–16 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's basketball team represented Coastal Carolina University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Chanticleers, led by ninth year head coach Cliff Ellis, played their home games at the HTC Center and are members of the Big South Conference.
The 2016–17 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's basketball team represented Coastal Carolina University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Chanticleers, led by tenth-year head coach Cliff Ellis, played their home games at the HTC Center in Conway, South Carolina as first-year members of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 20–19, 10–8 in Sun Belt play to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place. As the No. 8 seed in the Sun Belt tournament, they defeated South Alabama before losing to Texas–Arlington in the quarterfinals. They received an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational where they defeated Hampton, Loyola (MD) and UIC to advance to the best-of-three finals series against Wyoming where they lost 2 games to 1.
The 2017–18 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's basketball team represented Coastal Carolina University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Chanticleers, led by 11th-year head coach Cliff Ellis, played their home games at the HTC Center in Conway, South Carolina as members of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 14–18, 8–10 in Sun Belt play to finish in eighth place. They lost in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament to Texas State.
The 2018–19 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's basketball team represented Coastal Carolina University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Chanticleers, led by 12th-year head coach Cliff Ellis, played their home games at the HTC Center in Conway, South Carolina as members of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 17-17, 9–9 in Sun Belt Play to tor for 6th place. They lost in the second round of the Sun Belt tournament to Louisiana-Monroe. They received an at-large bid to the College Basketball Invitational where they defeated Howard and West Virginia to advance to the semifinals where they lost to DePaul.
The 2019–20 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's basketball team represented Coastal Carolina University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Chanticleers, led by 13th-year head coach Cliff Ellis, played their home games at the HTC Center in Conway, South Carolina as members of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 16–17, 8–12 in Sun Belt play to finish in a three-way tie for eighth place. They defeated UT Arlington in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament before losing in the second round to Appalachian State.
The 2020–21 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's basketball team represented Coastal Carolina University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Chanticleers, led by 14th-year head coach Cliff Ellis, played their home games at the HTC Center in Conway, South Carolina as members of the Sun Belt Conference. With the creation of divisions to cut down on travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they played in the East Division. they finished the season 18–8, 9–5 in Sun Belt play to finish in second place in the East Division. They defeated Troy in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt tournament before losing to Appalachian State in the semifinals. They received a bid to the College Basketball Invitational where they defeated Bryant and Stetson to advance to the CBI championship game. There they lost to Pepperdine.
The 2021–22 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's basketball team represented Coastal Carolina University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Chanticleers, led by 15th-year head coach Cliff Ellis, played their home games at the HTC Center in Conway, South Carolina as members of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 19-14, 8-8 in Sun Belt Play to finish in 7th place. They lost in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament to Georgia Southern. They received an invitation to the new The Basketball Classic, where they defeated Maryland Eastern Shore, Florida Gulf Coast, and South Alabama to advance to the championship game where they lost to Fresno State.
The 2022–23 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's basketball team represented Coastal Carolina University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Chanticleers, led by 16th-year head coach Cliff Ellis, played their home games at the HTC Center in Conway, South Carolina as members of the Sun Belt Conference.
The 2023–24 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's basketball team represented Coastal Carolina University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Chanticleers played their home games at the HTC Center in Conway, South Carolina as members of the Sun Belt Conference. They were led by 17th-year head coach Cliff Ellis for the first eight games of the season before he retired on December 8, 2023, with longtime associate head coach Benny Moss taking over for the rest of the season. They finished the season 9–22, 5–13 in Sun Belt play, to finish in thirteenth place. As the No. 13 seed in the Sun Belt tournament, they defeated Louisiana–Monroe in the first round, before losing to Louisiana in the second round.
The 2023–24 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball season was the season for Sun Belt Conference men's basketball teams that began with practices in October 2023, followed by the start of the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began in December 2023, and concluded on March 2, 2024. The 2024 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament took place from March 5–11, 2024, at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Florida.
The 2024–25 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball season is the season for Sun Belt Conference men's basketball teams that will begin with practices in October 2024, followed by the start of the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play will begin in December 2024, and conclude in March 2025. The 2025 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament will take place at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Florida.
The 2024–25 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's basketball team represents Coastal Carolina University in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Chanticleers, led by 1st-year head coach Justin Gray. play their home games at the HTC Center in Conway, South Carolina as members of the Sun Belt Conference.
