Chalmers comes to KU from Bartlett High School in Anchorage, Alaska, where he was the boys' head basketball coach for the past five seasons. Father of Kansas freshman Mario Chalmers, Ronnie Chalmers registered a 109-28 record and two state championships while at Bartlett. His teams won state titles in 2002 and 2003 and were runner-up in 2004. Prior to Bartlett, Chalmers spent more than 22 years in the U.S. Air Force and brings more than 20 years of basketball coaching experience to KU.
"I am very excited to be a part of the Kansas basketball program," Chalmers said. "Mario> '> s decision to choose Kansas was solely based on Mario. Almarie and I made a decision to stay in Alaska until she retired this spring, then relocate to follow Mario. This is a great opportunity to get my foot in the door at the college level, follow my son and be a part of one of the best programs in the country.> ">
"Throughout this past year I have had a chance to get to know Ronnie on a personal and professional basis and have been very impressed with his knowledge and ability to work with people,> "> Self said. > "> He has a long military background and excellent basketball portfolio and we felt he would be a great addition to our staff, filling a position that was void this past year."
"Ronnie will join the administrative staff of Danny Manning, who is our director of student-athlete development/manager, and Brett Ballard, who is our administrative assistant/video coordinator in the day-to-day operations of the office," Self added.
Chalmers earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from Wayland Baptist University and his master's degree in human resource management and development from the University of La Verne (Calif.). His basketball coaching dates back to 1985, including assistant and head coaching stints with Air Force squads as well as high school and summer league teams.