COLLEGE PARK, MD – Maryland men's basketball assistant coach Tony Skinn has been named head coach at George Mason University as announced Thursday morning. Skinn takes over his alma mater with nearly a decade of collegiate coaching experience.
 
Skinn was a key starter on the 2006 George Mason Final Four team and considered one of the program's best all-around guards.
 
With Maryland, Skinn was in his first season with the Terps where he helped the program post a 22-13 overall record including an NCAA Tournament win over West Virginia. In his role, Skinn worked with Maryland's guards, including All-Big Ten Second Team honoree Jahmir Young, and was key in the Terps recruiting efforts including this year's top-15 ranked class.

"Tony is ready to run and lead Mason's men's basketball program. He has great energy, is a ferocious competitor and will demand excellence from his players," said Maryland head coach Kevin Willard. "I have enjoyed having Tony on my staff at both Maryland and Seton Hall and I am confident he will work tirelessly to build a great program at George Mason."
 
Skinn has had coaching stops at Ohio State (2021-22), Seton Hall (2018-21), and Louisiana Tech (2015-16).
 
Having grown up less than 10 minutes from Maryland's campus, Skinn played college basketball at George Mason, where he was a 1,000-point scorer and two-time All-CAA selection. His nine steals against Northeastern on Jan. 19, 2006, set a George Mason and CAA conference record that still stands today.

Skinn and his George Mason teammates were the top college basketball story in 2006 when the Patriots earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 11 seed and upset No. 6 seed Michigan State, No. 3 seed North Carolina, No. 7 seed Wichita State and No. 1 seed Connecticut en route to the NCAA Final Four. The March Madness run was deemed one of the most improbable and unexpected performances in college basketball history.

After making history at George Mason, Skinn went on to play professionally in Europe for many years, including three in France. In 2012, he was a member of the Nigerian national team that qualified for the Olympics in London by finishing third at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Caracas, Venezuela. He averaged 10 points a game during the tournament as Nigeria upset Greece in the quarterfinals, lost to Russia in the semifinals but then topped the Dominican Republic to earn the final Olympic qualifying berth. In London, Skinn and Nigeria won their first Olympic preliminary round game, defeating Tunisia, 60-56, before finishing 10th in the tournament.