Richmond men’s basketball coach Chris Mooney will undergo heart surgery and will miss the remainder of the season. Richmond announced the health update of their coach on Friday. Mooney will have surgery next week to remove an aneurysm in his ascending aorta. His recovery time is expected to last four-to-eight weeks.
Head Coach Chris Mooney will undergo heart surgery next week and will miss the remainder of the season. All of Spider Athletics is committed to supporting Coach and his whole family during his recovery.
🔗 https://t.co/xdIx51nV2V#OneRichmond #SpiderNation 🕷️ pic.twitter.com/b6XAb5c4Bq
— Richmond Athletics (@SpiderAthletics) February 17, 2023
Assistant coach Peter Thomas will serve as Richmond’s interim head coach in Mooney’s absence.
“The University of Richmond and Spider Athletics are committed to doing everything possible to support Chris on his path to a full recovery,” Vice President and Director of Athletics John Hardt said in a statement. “Our main focus is ensuring that Chris has the time and space to prioritize his health and his family during this period. We look forward to having Chris back on campus leading Spider Basketball when he is fully recovered and ready to resume his duties.”
“I want to thank Richmond Athletics leadership, my coaching staff, and our players for doing everything they can to make a difficult situation a little bit easier,” said Mooney. “I’m grateful to have a tremendous medical team to rely on, and I’m thankful to have the opportunity to fully focus on my health for the next few weeks. During that time, I’m confident that Peter Thomas the rest of our coaches, and our players will rise to the challenge and have a successful end to the season.”
The 50-year-old Mooney has been Richmond’s head coach for the past 18 seasons. He holds a school-record 325 wins and led the Spiders to their only two Atlantic-10 Championships in 2011 and 2022.
