Rich Zvosec

Rich Zvosec is Arkansas State's Deputy Director of Athletics. Known to many as Coach "Z", he also currently works as a college basketball analyst for ESPN and Fox. His decorated head coaching career included stops at UMKC, Millersville (PA) University, North Florida and St. Francis (NY) College. He is also a published author, actor, and motivational speaker.

Zvosec has received awards in the coaching field as well as the television community. In 2005 he became one of only 35 active college basketball coaches to be selected Coach of the Year in two different Division I conferences at two separate schools. That year he was selected the Mid-Continent Conference, College Insider and CBS Sportsline Coach of the Year for his team's performance at UMKC.

Zvosec built a strong reputation for turning programs around during his coaching tenure, and he has built or rebuilt programs at each of his stops during his coaching journey. At two of his four head coaching assignments he departed as the all-time winningest coach.

At 27, he was the youngest Division I head coach in the country at St. Francis College in New York. In his third season, the Terriers recorded their most wins in two decades and he was named the Northeast Conference Coach of the Year. He then built the University of North Florida program from scratch. In only their fourth season of existence, he led the Ospreys to the championship game of the Sunshine State Conference. Along the way his team knocked off three nationally ranked teams.

His tenure at UMKC produced historic wins and results. Not only is he the all-time winningest coach, but he has the most tournament wins as well as the longest winning streak in school history. He led the Kangaroos to their first win over Kansas State, a 41-point victory that was the fifth largest margin of victory in school history. He also had the second highest winning percentage in the Mid-Continent Conference during his six seasons.

Throughout his coaching career he spent a great amount of time promoting and marketing the basketball programs through speaking appearances, television commercials, weekly radio shows, youth clinics and fundraising. He received a Telly for one of his commercials in 2001 and organized first-time events such as alumni games and alumni golf outings.

As a motivational speaker, Zvosec preaches the benefits of living a well-rounded life. The proof is in the actions. An analyst on ESPNU, Fox Sports, Big Ten Network, Big 12 Network and CBS College Sports, he has written two books titled "Birds, Dogs and Kangaroos (Life on the Back Roads of College Basketball)" and "For Tiger Fans Only." He has appeared in numerous feature films and television shows and has become a mainstay in the commercial industry.

Zvosec is married to Sandra Lanahan, a former Loyola College Lacrosse Head Coach. They have three children, Colin, Devin and Kailey.