Introduction
Daniel Joseph Kaspar (born November 16, 1954) is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach of Texas State University's men's basketball team. Before becoming head coach for Texas State in 2013, Kaspar served as head coach of the men's basketball team at Stephen F. Austin State University. Kaspar has also served as head coach at Incarnate Word, and as an assistant coach at Lamar, Midwestern State and Baylor.
Early life
Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, Kaspar graduated from Mary Carroll High School in Corpus Christi in 1973. He then attended Texas A&I University, an NCAA Division II school, and played shooting guard on the Texas A&I Javelinas basketball team for one year. He then transferred to McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas and North Texas State University. On the North Texas State Mean Green basketball team, Kaspar averaged 7 points as a junior in 1976–77 and 4.2 points as a senior in 1977–78. Kaspar graduated from North Texas State in 1978.
Coaching career
Kaspar began his career as an assistant coach to Billy Tubbs at Division I Lamar University in the 1979–80 season, a season when Lamar finished the regular season first in the Southland Conference and advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament. In 1980, Kaspar became an assistant coach at Division II Midwestern State. Kaspar then became an assistant on Harry Miller's staff at Stephen F. Austin in 1983 for three seasons, including two seasons in Stephen F. Austin's transition from Division II to Division I (1984–1986).
From 1986 to 1991, Kaspar was an assistant to Gene Iba at Baylor.
Incarnate Word (1991–2000)
Kaspar was head coach at the NAIA program Incarnate Word for nine seasons from 1991 to 2000 and had a 219–52 record there. In his tenure at Incarnate Word, Kaspar earned four Heart of Texas Conference Coach of the Year honors and led Incarnate Word to five regular season conference championships.
Stephen F. Austin (2000–2013)
In 2000, Kaspar returned to Stephen F. Austin to be head coach, having previously been an assistant coach from 1983 to 1986. Kaspar had a 246–141 record at Stephen F. Austin. Stephen F. Austin had six seasons with 20 or more wins under Kaspar's tenure, four regular season Southland Conference championships, and made the 2009 NCAA Tournament after winning the Southland Tournament that year. Additionally, Stephen F. Austin appeared in the National Invitation Tournament in 2008 and 2013.
Texas State (2013–present)
Kaspar became head coach at Texas State in 2013. Texas State finished 8–23 in Kaspar's first season.
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Incarnate Word (Heart of Texas Conference, NAIA Independent) (1991–2000) | |||||||||
| 1991–92 | Incarnate Word | 21–9 | 6–4 | 3rd | — | ||||
| 1992–93 | Incarnate Word | 28–4 | 8–2 | 1st | NAIA Tournament First Round | ||||
| 1993–94 | Incarnate Word | 24–6 | 7–3 | 1st | NAIA Tournament First Round | ||||
| 1994–95 | Incarnate Word | 26–8 | 8–6 | 3rd | NAIA Tournament First Round | ||||
| 1995–96 | Incarnate Word | 20–9 | 11–3 | 1st | — | ||||
| 1996–97 | Incarnate Word | 25–4 | 14–2 | 2nd | NAIA Tournament First Round | ||||
| 1997–98 | Incarnate Word | 26–5 | 12–2 | T–1st | NAIA Tournament Quarterfinals | ||||
| 1998–99 | Incarnate Word | 28–2 | 9–1 | 1st | NAIA Tournament Second Round | ||||
| 1999–00 | Incarnate Word | 21–5 | — | — | — | ||||
| Incarnate Word: | 219–52 | 75–23 | |||||||
| Stephen F. Austin (Southland Conference) (2000–present) | |||||||||
| 2000–01 | Stephen F. Austin | 9–17 | 6–14 | 10th | — | ||||
| 2001–02 | Stephen F. Austin | 13–15 | 10–10 | T–5th | — | ||||
| 2002–03 | Stephen F. Austin | 21–8 | 16–4 | 2nd | — | ||||
| 2003–04 | Stephen F. Austin | 21–9 | 10–6 | 4th | — | ||||
| 2004–05 | Stephen F. Austin | 12–15 | 6–10 | 9th | — | ||||
| 2005–06 | Stephen F. Austin | 17–12 | 9–7 | T–4th | — | ||||
| 2006–07 | Stephen F. Austin | 15–14 | 8–8 | T–3rd (West) | — | ||||
| 2007–08 | Stephen F. Austin | 26–6 | 13–3 | 1st (West) | NIT Opening Round | ||||
| 2008–09 | Stephen F. Austin | 24–8 | 13–3 | 1st (East) | NCAA First Round | ||||
| 2009–10 | Stephen F. Austin | 23–9 | 11–5 | 1st (East) | — | ||||
| 2010–11 | Stephen F. Austin | 18–11 | 9–7 | T3rd (West) | — | ||||
| 2011–12 | Stephen F. Austin | 20–12 | 12–4 | 2nd (West) | — | ||||
| 2012–13 | Stephen F. Austin | 26–3 | 16–2 | 1st | NIT Opening Round | ||||
| Stephen F. Austin: | 246–141 | 139–83 | |||||||
| Texas State (Sun Belt Conference) (2013–present) | |||||||||
| 2013–14 | Texas State | 8–23 | 4–14 | 10th | |||||
| 2014–15 | Texas State | 14–17 | 7–13 | 9th | |||||
| 2015–16 | Texas State | 15–16 | 8–12 | T–7th | |||||
| 2016–17 | Texas State | 12-8 | 5-3 | ||||||
| Texas State: | 49–64 | 24–42 | |||||||
| Total: | 508–253 | ||||||||
| National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||