Pine Bluff native and Watson Chapel alumnus Kris McCullough has been named the new head coach of North Carolina’s Gardner-Webb University. As a Wildcat, McCullough played both football and baseball. He received his bachelor’s degree from Henderson State University, where he worked as an undergraduate assistant. He also worked at Henderson State University before heading east to work at Old Dominion University and Fairmont University. All three of these positions involved offensive and special team assistant responsibilities. In 2019, he earned his master’s degree from Arkansas State.
After Fairmont, McCullough spent four years at East Central University in Oklahoma. There, he climbed the coaching ranks, starting as the quarterbacks coach and special team coordinator, moving to assistant coach, and finally being named interim head coach before being promoted to lead the program. He had one successful season before accepting a position at the University of Texas-Permian Basin. At the time of his appointment to the Odessa-based university, he was the youngest head coach in college football.
At Texas-Permian Basin, Coach McCullough earned several individual awards including the 2023 Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year during his first season with the team, a Dave Campbell Texas Football “40 Under 40” selection and a “35 Under 35” and “30 Under 30” selection from the AFCA Leadership Institute and 247Sports.com, respectively. In that first season, he led the program to a 10-2 record and the first Lone Start Conference title in the university’s history. The team ended with a national ranking of No. 18.
McCullough’s final season included a program-record of 11 wins, a first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II quarterfinals, and an AFCA national ranking of No. 3. Twenty-seven players were also placed on the All-Lone Star Conference teams. The Falcons had top rankings in passing yards, passing offense, total yards, total touchdowns, and pass defense. Linebacker Tristan Exline was a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy under Coach McCullough’s guidance.
Throughout his professional career, Kris McCullough has not only been able to lead his teams to wins, but he has also guided his players to success at the next level of their football careers. He is known for his ability to recruit from the best talent available and develop his players. We know he will continue to build on his past record as a Gardner-Webb Bulldog.
We in Pine Bluff wish Coach McCullough and his family continued victories in this next chapter.
