Phil Cunningham enters his fourth season as associate head coach on the Hilltopper Basketball staff under head coach Rick Stansbury in 2022-23.
In Cunningham's third season with the Hilltoppers in 2021-22, the team posted a 19-13 record and won nine of their last 10 in league action. WKU added to its Power Five wins with victories over Ole Miss and Louisville in the non-conference schedule.
During his second season on The Hill in 2020-21, WKU held a 21-8 record after claiming the Conference USA East Division title and the best regular-season winning percentage in the league. The Hilltoppers also advanced to C-USA championship game and the National Invitation Tournament quarterfinals in the postseason.
Cunningham also served as interim head coach in the absence of Stansbury for two games at Middle Tennessee, leading the Hilltoppers to two victories by a combined 31 points.
In his first season at WKU in 2019-20, the Hilltoppers finished 20-10 and were set to be the No. 2 seed in the Conference USA Championship before the season was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cunningham – a Campbellsville, Ky., native – spent the previous six seasons as the head coach at Troy University, and his 18 years as a Division I assistant before that included 12 years working with Stansbury at Mississippi State and one prior stint as a WKU assistant in 2012-13.
Cunningham, 52, led Troy to its first Sun Belt Tournament championship in 2017 and the program’s second NCAA Tournament appearance, including the first in 14 years. That team completed the biggest wins turnaround in program history and racked up the most victories in a season since 2003-04.
During his tenure, Cunningham coached the No. 1 and No. 2 all-time leading scorers in Troy history in Wes Person and Jordon Varnado.
His Troy teams also won the Sun Belt Team Academic Award in two of the last three years, and all 16 players who competed as seniors earned their degree.
Before taking the reins at Troy, Cunningham was named one of the top 25 assistant coaches in the NCAA by Rivals.com and was recognized by The Hoop Scoop recruiting publication as one of the top NCAA Division I men’s basketball assistant coaches.
In his one season at WKU, the Hilltoppers won four games in four days to claim their second straight Sun Belt title, narrowly falling to No. 1 seed Kansas in the NCAA Tournament.
Cunningham spent 12 seasons as an assistant coach under Stansbury at Mississippi State from 2000-12 before joining the WKU staff. In that 13-year span, Mississippi State and WKU made 11 postseason appearances, including seven NCAA Tournament berths. All 12 of the recruiting classes he was involved with at Mississippi State were nationally recognized.
Cunningham was a part of six NCAA Tournament appearances in 11 years at Mississippi State. He worked primarily with the Bulldog guards and had a heavy hand in the program’s recruiting efforts, helping land players such as Jarvis Varnado, Jamont Gordon, Charles Rhodes, Arnett Moultrie and also Monta Ellis, who went directly to the NBA out of high school after signing with Mississippi State.
Cunningham was a part of five Southeastern Conference Western Division crowns, one overall conference championship and two conference tournament titles in his final nine seasons at Mississippi State.
Before his tenure at Mississippi State, Cunningham spent five seasons as an assistant coach under legendary head coach Charles “Lefty” Driesell at James Madison and Georgia State. He was promoted to associate head coach in his final two seasons at GSU, where he recruited back-to-back conference Player of the Year winners.
Cunningham’s 18-year stint as an NCAA Division I assistant coach was preceded by a three-year stay as head basketball coach at Sue Bennett College in London, Ky. Taking over a former junior college program making the jump to four-year competition in the NAIA, Cunningham paced Sue Bennett to 48 victories during his three seasons at the helm of the Dragons, including postseason tournament appearances during each of the school’s first two years of postseason eligibility status.
Cunningham began his coaching career in the 1990-91 season as an assistant coach on his father’s staff at Campbellsville University after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He helped lead the Tigers to the District 32 championship and an appearance in the NAIA Tournament.
He then went to Mississippi State as a graduate assistant for the 1991-92 season, where he earned a master’s degree in physical education with an emphasis in sports administration.
After graduating from Taylor County High School, Cunningham began his collegiate playing career at Kentucky Wesleyan and won a NCAA Division II National Championship in 1987. Citing a desire to play for his highly respected father, Cunningham transferred to Campbellsville College, now Campbellsville University, where he finished his career ranked among the school’s all-time leaders in career assists.
Cunningham has one daughter, Shelby.
