Meet The Author

Upon his retirement on December 6, 2023, Cliff Ellis was the winningest active Division 1 men’s basketball coach and finished his career as the ninth winningest coach in NCAA Division 1 history.

His accomplishments include:

Championships

  • ACC Regular Season 1990

  • SEC Regular Season 1999

  • 3 Sun Belt Regular Season 1979,1980, 1981

  • 3 Big South Regular Season 2010. 2011, 2014

  • 2 Big South Tournament 2014, 2015

Awards

  • AP national Coach of the Year 1999

  • CBS National Coach of the Year 1999

  • John Wooden Coach of the Year 1999

  • Two-time ACC Coach of the Year 1987, 1990

  • Two-time SEC Coach of the Year 1995, 1999

  • Sun Belt Coach of the Year 1979

  • Big South Coach of the Year 2010

Ellis is a member of four Halls of Fame

  • Alabama Sports Hall of Fame

  • Clemson Hall of Fame

  • Cumberland University Hall of Fame

  • Mobile Sports Hall of Fame

Ellis is the only coach in NCAA Division 1 history to win at least 170 games at four different institutions.

He is the all-time leader in NCAA Dvision 1 wins in the state of South Carolina with 474 wins. Former South Carolina coach Frank McGuire is a distant second with 283 wins.

As a humanitarian Ellis and his wife Carolyn have the Cliff and Carolyn Ellis Foundation, which seeks to help children aged 0-6 with learning skills. He serves on the Jimmy Rane Foundation, which awards scholarships each year to deserving students who need financial support.

On Thursday, April 18, 2019, Cliff Ellis teamed up with former Florida Gator and South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier and former Florida State football defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews for a press conference at the Capitol in Tallahassee. Florida, to urge the Florida lawmakers to aid the eleven counties that were battered by Hurricane Michael in October 2018. Shortly after the press conference Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Division of Emergency Management announced $18.5 million in relief for these counties.

Cliff and his wife Carolyn have three children and five grandchildren and live in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.

“Everything you do for another will outlive you. Everything you do for yourself will die.”

— Cliff Ellis