Tide assistant Bryan Hodgson introduced as head coach at Arkansas State

Alabama assistant coach Bryan Hodgson is getting an opportunity to be a head coach.

Nate Oats’ long-time assistant coach was introduced as the new Men’s Head Basketball Coach at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Ark.

“I am ready to start a new chapter of my life here in Jonesboro and bring that same brand of blue-collar basketball with me to A-State,” Hodgson said. “I’m from a blue collar town in Western New York, Jamestown New York which is full of humble hard-working people. This city has a lot of those same qualities. My program will represent this University, the community and all of our supporters with class, pride, and integrity. I am going to put together a team that everybody in this room and community can be proud of.”

Hodgson has been on Oats’ staff the past eight seasons. During that time, he’s earned a reputation as one of the top recruiters in college basketball. Hodgson is rated as the No. 2 recruiter nationally by 247Sports.com and has been key in helping Alabama to four straight top-15 recruiting classes.

“This is a monumental day for Arkansas State athletics,” said Jeff Purinton, Arkansas State’s Vice Chancellor of Intercollegiate Athletics. “You know, I initially wrote down ‘exciting’ but this is bigger than that. The fact is, we have only been to one NCAA Tournament in school history. That is the same number that Buffalo had been to before (Alabama head coach) Nate Oats and Bryan Hodgson got there.”

In their time coaching together at Buffalo and Alabama, Oats and Hodgson teams’ have reached the NCAA Tournament six times in eight years.

Arkansas State’s only NCAA Tournament appearance was in 1999. Last season, ASU finished 13-20 and 4-14 in the Sun Belt Conference