// Workers AI · dad joke modeWho's Eric Olen? An ole' friend, obviously.
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | New Mexico |
| Conference | Mountain West |
| Record | 26–11 (.703) |
| Annual salary | $1.45 million |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | October 15, 1980 Mobile, Alabama, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1999–2004 | Spring Hill |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2004–2013 | UC San Diego (assistant) |
| 2013–2025 | UC San Diego |
| 2025–present | New Mexico |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 266–130 (.672) |
| Tournaments | 0–1 (NCAA DI) 5–4 (NCAA DII) 0–1 (CBI) 3–1 (NIT) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 3 CCAA regular season (2017, 2019, 2020) 4 CCAA tournament (2017–2020) Big West tournament (2025) Big West regular season (2025) | |
| Awards | |
| 2× Big West Coach of the Year (2024, 2025) 2× CCAA Coach of the Year (2017, 2020) NABC Pacific District Coach of the Year (2025) | |
Eric Olen (born October 15, 1980)[1] is an American college basketball coach who is the current head men's basketball coach at the University of New Mexico. He was previously the head coach at UC San Diego from 2013 to 2025.
Playing career
[edit]Olen grew up in Mobile, Alabama and prepped at McGill–Toolen Catholic High School. Olen went on to play collegiately at Spring Hill College, where he was part of three straight NAIA national tournament appearances for the Badgers, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2000.[2]
Coaching career
[edit]Olen joined his former college coach Bill Carr as an assistant at UC San Diego in 2004, and stayed in the role until 2013 before being promoted to head coach after then head coach Chris Carlson left for an administrative role with the West Coast Conference.[3][4] Olen has since led the Tritons to three CCAA regular season titles and four consecutive conference tournament titles in addition to four NCAA Division II tournament appearances.[3] He guided the Tritons men's basketball program into its status in NCAA Division I as members of the Big West Conference beginning in 2020–21.[5]
New Mexico
[edit]In March 2025, Olen was named the head coach of the University of New Mexico men's basketball program, succeeding Richard Pitino after Pitino departed for Xavier.[6]
In his first season with the Lobos, Olen led New Mexico to a 26–11 overall record and a semifinal appearance in the NIT, marking the second most successful season by a first-year head coach in program history. Behind an up-tempo offensive system and key contributors including Jake Hall, the Lobos averaged over 81 points per game and posted a 17–3 home record at The Pit. Following the successful season, Olen agreed to a five-year contract extension with New Mexico in May 2026.[7]
Head coaching record
[edit]| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC San Diego Tritons (California Collegiate Athletic Association) (2013–2020) | |||||||||
| 2013–14 | UC San Diego | 15–11 | 11–11 | 7th | |||||
| 2014–15 | UC San Diego | 16–11 | 14–8 | T–4th | |||||
| 2015–16 | UC San Diego | 24–8 | 15–5 | 2nd | NCAA Division II Sweet 16 | ||||
| 2016–17 | UC San Diego | 27–6 | 17–3 | 1st | NCAA Division II Sweet 16 | ||||
| 2017–18 | UC San Diego | 21–11 | 15–7 | T–3rd | NCAA Division II Round of 64 | ||||
| 2018–19 | UC San Diego | 26–8 | 17–5 | T–1st | NCAA Division II Round of 32 | ||||
| 2019–20 | UC San Diego | 30–1 | 21–1 | 1st | Tournament cancelled | ||||
| UC San Diego Tritons (Big West Conference) (2020–2025) | |||||||||
| 2020–21 | UC San Diego | 7–10 | 4–8* | ||||||
| 2021–22 | UC San Diego | 13–16 | 7–11 | 8th | |||||
| 2022–23 | UC San Diego | 10–20 | 5–13 | 9th | |||||
| 2023–24 | UC San Diego | 21–12 | 15–5 | 2nd | CBI First Round | ||||
| 2024–25 | UC San Diego | 30–5 | 18–2 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| UC San Diego: | 240–119 (.669) | 159–79 (.668) | |||||||
| New Mexico Lobos (Mountain West Conference) (2025–present) | |||||||||
| 2025–26 | New Mexico | 26–11 | 13–7 | T–3rd | NIT Semifinals | ||||
| 2026–27 | New Mexico | 0-0 | 0-0 | ||||||
| New Mexico: | 26–11 (.703) | 13–7 (.650) | |||||||
| Total: | 266–130 (.672) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
* Due to the 2020–21 season being the first year of transitioning to DI, games in the Big West did not count towards the Tritons' standings and conference record.
External links
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Heidi VanDerveer [@Hoops4Heidi] (October 15, 2020). "Wishing a Happy Birthday to @CoachEricOlen this cute little boy turned into a hooper, evolved into an excellent coach and an even better person. I am lucky to work with him and more fortunate to call him my friend! @UCSDtritons @UCSDmbb @UCSDwbb" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ↑ "Eric Olen - Head Coach - Men's Basketball Coaches". University of California, San Diego.
- 1 2 "Eric Olen Bio". UC San Diego Athletics. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
- ↑ "Chris Carlson Steps Down at UC San Diego". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
- ↑ "UC San Diego Officially Begins Division I Transition". UC San Diego Athletics. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
- ↑ "Eric Olen Named New Mexico Men's Basketball Head Coach". New Mexico Lobos Athletics. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
- ↑ "Eric Olen and UNM Agree to New Five-Year Deal". New Mexico Lobos Athletics. Retrieved May 11, 2026.