Bio

Chris Mowry was named the Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Santa Fe College on June 25, 2003. He completed his 20th season in 2022-23 and is the winningest and longest tenured men’s basketball coach in Saints history.

In 2022-2023, the Saints finished with a record of 17-12, with four players receiving postseason honors from the Central Conference and Jalen Speer being named to the All-FCSAA/All-NJCAA Region 8 Team. 

Santa Fe's 2021-2022 season, however, went down as one of the program's best, and concluded with a 24-6 mark overall, a Central Conference Championship, and an appearance at the FCSAA/NJCAA Region VIII State Tournament. SF went a perfect 15-0 on their home floor on their way to the conference title. The Saints reached as high as No. 18 in the NJCAA Division I poll, were present or receiving votes in several other polls, and were consistently ranked within the Top-5 of the highly competitive FCSAA/NJCAA Region VIII Coaches' Poll.

Over the last 20 seasons, Mowry and the Saints possess a 374-219 record. He was named the Central Conference Coach of the Year in 2021-2022, and has now won or shared five conference titles, secured two Mid-Florida Conference Tournament titles, and garnered conference Coach of the Year recognition on five occasions. 

He has a great track-record for helping players move on to the next level. Following the 2021-2022 season, Coach Mowry has seen 111 players sign with 4-year colleges. 

Prior to SF

Coach Mowry served one season as an assistant at Elon University. Before that, he was an assistant coach at the University of Central Florida for nine years from 1993-2002. While at UCF, The Golden Knights won two Atlantic Sun Conference Titles, resulting in the team’s first ever automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament. During his nine years in Orlando, 23 of 26 seniors graduated from the University. 

Coach Mowry began his coaching career as an undergrad at St. Ambrose University (IA), where he graduated in 1984 with a B.S. in Physical Education. He then served two years as a Graduate Assistant Coach at Western New Mexico University 1984-86, while earning his Masters of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.). Mowry moved back to the Midwest to serve as an assistant at the University of Indianapolis in 1986-87, and then at DePauw University (IN) from 1987-89. 

Coach Mowry moved to the Sunshine State to take his first head coaching position at St. Thomas University in Miami. He served three years, from 1989-1992, compiling a 44-49 record. His 1989-90 squad set a school record for wins with 19, and advanced to the NAIA Florida/Georgia District Championship. The importance Mowry places on academics showed once again as 14 of 15 senior basketball players earned their degrees. Mowry spent the 1992-93 season as an assistant at Miami-Dade CC, before joining the staff at UCF. 

Family

Coach Mowry has been married to his wife Gail for 30 years. They are the proud parents of Erin (26) and Austin (25).