Former UAH head coach Lennie Acuff named Samford head coach

BIRMINGHAM – The Magic City just welcomed a little new magic in the form of longtime basketball coach Lennie Acuff. The 60-year old Huntsville native was named the new head coach of the Samford University Bulldogs’ basketball program after spending the last six seasons as head coach at Lipscomb University of Nashville.

“Samford University is a special place, and I can assure everyone who loves this institution that we will work tirelessly to put a team on the floor that you will be proud of while never compromising what the university stands for,” said Acuff after accepting his new position in Birmingham.

Known for his efficient offense that ranked 27th nationally in effective field-goal percentage this past season, his Lipscomb teams have ranked among the top-four in scoring each of the past four seasons in the Atlantic Sun Conference including the most recent campaign where the Bisons were 25-10 including being the regular season and Conference Tournament champions with a placement in the NCAA Tournament as a 14-seed. He was named the ASUN Conference Coach of the Year while the Bisons fell to third-seeded Iowa State in round one of the NCAA Tournament.

A high school guard playing at now closed Johnson High School in Huntsville, Acuff then played for Shorter College where he led the teams to the NAIA national top 10 in his last two seasons. He was also a starting point guard for the Athletes in Action college all-star team which toured Asia and represented the U.S. in the Pre-Olympic Tournament in Seoul, South Korea. He graduated from Shorter in 1988 and soon took the head coaching job at Belhaven College in Jackson, Miss., and at age 25 was the youngest head coach at a four-year college in the United States. After three seasons he returned to his alma mater to coach his former school before he was offered the head coach position for the UAH Chargers in Huntsville. It was there he carved his name into coaching greatness.

He built the program into a national power in 22 seasons where he compiled a 437-214 record with 20 winning seasons. His team won eight Gulf South Conference regular season titles and three tournament titles. The all-time winningest coach in GSC history, was also named Coach of the Year a record eight times. He took over the position at Lipscomb in 2019 and completed his tenure with the Bisons with a 110-82 record. Overall, Acuff has a NCAA record of 564-305 and a 96-99 record within the NAIA.

He takes over at Samford as he replaced Bucky McMillan who was hired at Texas A&M.

Martin Newton, Athletic Director at Samford, made the announcement of Acuff being named the 30th head coach in the Bulldogs history. He said, “I am thrilled to announce Lennie Acuff as our new coach as he is a basketball lifer, who comes to Samford with vast coaching experience and has been a proven winner everywhere he has been.”

“I am grateful for Samford officials believing in me and entrusting me with a basketball program that has enjoyed unparalleled success over the past five years under coach Mc-Millan,” added Acuff, who himself was inducted into the Huntsville-Madison County Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018.

Acuff was born Jan. 24, 1965, the same day as the great Winston Churchill died and President Lyndon Johnson was inaugurated. Acuff and his wife, Kelly, have two children.