When Richmond athletic director Jim Miller announced the hiring of Chris Mooney as head coach of the Spiders on May 6, 2005, he said Mooney would "attract student-athletes who make the community proud, while sustaining Richmond's place among the Atlantic 10 elite."

By the time Mooney coached his first game that fall, the team was down to seven scholarship players and it was clear that the Philly native had a bigger challenge than sustaining success. He had to create some from scratch.

Now as members of Mooney's first recruiting class are in their senior season, it is clear he has attracted student-athletes who make the community proud and he has the Spiders not only among the Atlantic 10's elite, but cracking the Top-25 Polls. The Spiders broke into to the Top-25 for the 1st time in 24 years and the 2nd time in 52 years.

In his fifth season at Richmond, the Spiders finished 13-3 in Atlantic 10 play, a two-point double-overtime loss at Xavier shy of winning the regular season title. Richmond is one of just 3 A-10 teams who can claim a top-5 finish in the conference each of the last 3 seasons, joining Xavier and Temple.

Mooney was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year by Sporting News and is one of 15 finalists for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award.

Richmond received unprecedented preseason national attention for the 2009-10 season, as Blue Ribbon College Basketball Preview wrote the Spiders have "had college basketball pundits Twittering a blue streak all summer about their merits as a rising star."

Mooney appeared on ESPNU with Andy Katz and college basketball analysts from Katz to Jay Bilas to Fox Sports' Jeff Goodman have been writing about the Spiders' wealth of talent, mentioning Kevin Anderson, David Gonzalvez, Dan Geriot and Justin Harper in their blogs and articles.

And the program Mooney has built is more than just preseason hype, the Spiders lived up to all the hoopla, winning a school regular-season record 24 games, posting the best finish (3rd) and record (13-3) since joining the A-10 and picking up wins over defending Big 12 Champion Missouri, defending SEC Champion Mississippi State, No. 13 ranked Florida and No. 17 ranked Temple.

Last season, despite playing without Geriot, Richmond won 20 games for the 16th time in school history, defeating a ranked opponent (No. 17 Xavier) in the Robins Center for the second-straight season. In 2007-08, Mooney led the Spiders to a win over No. 16 Dayton and Virginia Tech in the Robins Center on their way to fourth-place finish and a first-round bye in the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

Mooney and his staff have recruited and mentored one of the best point guards in the nation in Anderson, the 2010 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and a First-Team All-Atlantic 10 selection. Anderson was a Second-Team All-Atlantic 10 selection last year and was listed in the preseason as the No. 17 best point guard in the nation by Lindy's. Gonzalvez, a Second-Team All-Atlantic 10 selection this year, was ranked as the No. 39 best shooter in the country by Fox Sports' Goodman.

And while Mooney played at Princeton and employs fundamentals of the Princeton offense, the Spiders have no problem scoring and pushing the tempo, averaging 70 points per game last season while setting a school record with 2,518 points.

Since high school Mooney has been a part of setting the school record for wins in a season as a player at Archbishop Ryan High, as a player at Princeton, as a coach at Lansdale Catholic High, as a coach at Beaver College and as a coach at Air Force.

Mooney was hired as a Division I coach at the age of 31, taking over at Air Force after serving three years as an assistant coach and one year as an associate head coach on Joe Scott's staff.

The Falcons posted their second best all-time record (18-12) in Mooney's first year at the helm, while setting a program mark in three-pointers (266) and leading the nation for the third consecutive year in fewest points allowed per game (54.3). His 18 victories were the most by a first-year head at Air Force.

Under Mooney's direction, Air Force ranked second in Division I for fewest turnovers per game (9.8) and third in turnover margin (+6.6). That is a trend that has carried over to Richmond as the Spiders led the Atlantic 10 in fewest turnovers per game (12.00) in conference games in 2008-09. The Falcons, who received votes in the national polls, were one of only two Mountain West Conference teams with five all-conference honorees.

In his final season as Air Force's associate head coach, Mooney was instrumental in guiding the Falcons to their most successful season. The 2003-04 squad went 22-7, won the Mountain West Conference regular-season championship with a 12-2 mark, and earned the program's first NCAA Tournament berth since 1962.

In conjunction with the on-court success, Mooney fostered strong relationships in the community. Air Force's home attendance increased every season Mooney spent in Colorado Springs, including an all-time high in 2004-05. The Falcons enjoyed a program-record 24-game home win streak during his last two seasons.

By fostering connections to alumni, Mooney helped build a network that enabled Air Force to travel to Sweden and Denmark, and the Spiders visited Spain in the summer of 2008. He believes being a recognizable and active part of the community is essential, for his entire program.

During his playing days for Hall of Fame coach Pete Carril at Princeton, Mooney twice earned the B.F. Bunn Trophy, given annually to the varsity basketball student-athlete who, through sportsmanship, play and influence, contributed most to the sport at the school. He finished second for Ivy League Rookie of the Year as a freshman, honorable mention all-conference as a sophomore, First-Team All-Ivy League as a junior and Second-Team All-Ivy his final season.

A 1994 graduate with a B.A. in English, Mooney led Princeton to the NCAA Tournament twice following a pair of conference titles. The four-year letterwinner amassed 1,071 points, which ranks 20th on Princeton's all-time scoring list, and started all 107 games in his career. He currently ranks seventh on Princeton's career list with 142 career three-pointers and is one of five Princeton student-athletes to score 1,000 points, grab 350 rebounds and dish 200 assists.

Following his playing career, Mooney took over the reigns at Landsdale Catholic High School at the age of 22 and Division III Beaver College (now Arcadia University) at the age of 25. In his second year at Beaver College, Mooney led the team to a school-record 16 wins and a playoff berth in the conference tournament.

Mooney is married to the former Lia Chomat, a Princeton graduate who also has a doctorate in psychology from Penn. The couple have a son Danny, who was born in May 2009.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT MOONEY AND THE SPIDERS
"Playing Richmond is not a box of chocolates, that's for sure." - #17 Ranked Temple Coach Fran Dunphy after the Spiders defeated the Owls 71-54 in the Robins Center

"They're a very good team, they had great wins against Mississippi State and Missouri and they had a tough loss to VCU, which was a close game that came down to the wire, they had an opportunity to win on the road. I thought they played South Carolina very tough, but South Carolina pulled away in the last 4 or 5 minutes of the game....We've been able to overcome some bad shooting nights, but with the way Gonzalvez shot it tonight, it was really difficult." - Florida coach Billy Donovan after Richmond's win over the No. 13 Gators

"That's a very good basketball team, they are a very well coached, hard playing Richmond basketball team. That's as good a win as we can get, that's as good a win as we've had this far. As we all know, that team beat Mississippi State, beat Missouri, beat Florida and Florida." - Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio after edging the Spiders in overtime on Dec. 31

"I have a great amount of respect for the program Chris is building there..Richmond, they're just one of the best teams around." - Dayton coach Brian Gregory after the 2009 Atlantic 10 Quarterfinal match-up between the Flyers and Spiders

"I really think Richmond is a hard team to guard. Tonight we lost in large part due to Richmond's high-level offense. Fifty-one percent from the floor, eight turnovers, just a terrific offensive night and our defense had no answer. We didn't have an answer for Kevin Anderson and we didn't have an answer for Richmond." - Former Xavier coach and current Arizona coach Sean Miller after the Spiders' 80-75 win over the No. 17 Musketeers in 2008-09

"They are so well coached. What Chris has done with this basketball team is impressive. Richmond has a very good basketball team. Those guys are good players, they can shoot it and run their stuff. I think they have a really good team and I'm happy to come out of here with a win." - Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim after the the Orange's 76-71 over Richmond last season in the Carrier Dome

"Coach Mooney is one of the best young minds in the game."
Andy Katz, ESPN.com

"Chris is a bright guy who is a hard worker. Guys want to play for him because he is tough and personable. His offense is more open than the traditional Princeton style, more freedom and less restriction. He is a special guy. I'm sure he will be very good for Richmond."
Bill Carmody, Northwestern head coach

"Chris Mooney's pedigree as a player at Princeton and his coaching background at Air Force are a great fit for the University of Richmond. Spider basketball teams will be well-coached by someone with great energy and integrity."
Fran Fraschilla, ESPN college basketball analyst