George Mason Names 2006 Final Four Starter Tony Skinn As Next Head Basketball Coach

FAIRFAX, VA — George Mason University announced Thursday that Tony Skinn, one of the starters on the school’s historic 2006 Final Four team, has been hired as the head coach of the men’s basketball team.

Skinn, who will be a head coach for the first time in his career, replaces Kim English, who left George Mason last Thursday for the head coaching job at Providence College.

A key starter on the 2006 George Mason Final Four team, Skinn, 40, returns to his alma mater after one year as an assistant coach at the University of Maryland and nearly a decade of collegiate coaching.

“Tony Skinn is the right man for this moment in Mason’s basketball program,” George Mason President Gregory Washington said in a statement Thursday. “His coaching style will galvanize our student-athletes, and his connection to our finest hour on the court is sure to electrify our alumni and fans. Let the Tony Skinn era begin!”

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George Mason said an introductory news conference for Skinn will be announced soon.

Most recently, Skinn served on Kevin Willard’s staff at the University of Maryland, where in 2022-23, he helped lead the Terps to a 22-13 record and an NCAA tournament victory over West Virginia.

"Tony is ready to run and lead Mason's men's basketball program. He has great energy, is a ferocious competitor and will demand excellence from his players," Willard said in a statement. "I have enjoyed having Tony on my staff at both Maryland and Seton Hall, and I am confident he will work tirelessly to build a great program at George Mason."

A native of Takoma Park, Maryland, Skinn starred for the Patriots from 2003-06. He averaged 14.4 points as a junior before putting together an outstanding senior season in 2005-06. During that season, he ranked fifth in the Colonial Athletic Association in steals per game, while averaging 12.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists.

George Mason's NCAA Tournament run as an 11th seed in 2006 stands out as one of the defining moments in the university’s first 50 years, and set the stage for later college basketball Cinderella stories like Virginia Commonwealth University and Butler.

Prior to joining Maryland as an assistant coach in 2022, Skinn served as an assistant at Ohio State University in 2021-22. During his time with the Buckeyes, he worked closely with Big Ten Freshman of the Year Malaki Branham, who averaged 13.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting over 49 percent from the floor.

In his three seasons at Seton Hall, Skinn coached the guards and helped Quincy McKnight become one of the best point guards in the Big East. Prior to joining Seton Hall, Skinn had a successful three-year run as an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech, as the Bulldogs won 63 games during his tenure, including back-to-back 23-win seasons and a pair of top-four finishes in Conference USA.

Prior to his collegiate coaching career, Skinn served as the director of athletics at the Paul International High School in Washington, D.C., and was an assistant coach for NIKE Team Takeover, one of the premier AAU programs in the country.

Skinn and his wife, Weyni, have three children, Isaiah, Liam and Noelle.