UTPB Athletics

Josh Newman enters his fourth season as UT Permian Basin Head Men’s Basketball Coach.  In his 15 years as a head coach, Newman has made 14 straight postseasons, won six regular season conference championships, and has four NCAA Tournament appearances.

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The Falcons battled injuries in 2020-21 and faced one of the most difficult schedules in the nation, playing 10 straight games against teams ranked or receiving votes.  The Falcons started hot, matching the best six-game start in program history at 6-0.  Despite having to change the rotation due to injuries, the Falcons pulled off two of the biggest wins of the Newman era.  It started on the road at No. 11 St. Edward's where the Falcon defense suffocated the Hilltoppers to pull off the 75-65 upset.  The next game, the Falcons upset No. Dallas Baptist 99-97 in overtime.  Jordan Horn scored 15 of the team's final 17 points in regulation before hitting the game-winning three in overtime. In the Lone Star Conference playoffs the Falcons held eventual national runner-up West Texas A&M to their second lowest scoring night of the season, holding the usually potent offense to just 72 points.  After the season, Jordan Horn and Trevion Lamar were selected to the Lone Star Conference All-Conference Second Team.
 
Newman led the Falcons to a 16-16 record during the 2019-20 season, earning a spot in the Lone Star Conference playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.  The Falcons were 13-4 at home, including a 106-95 victory over Lubbock Christian on Feb. 27. As a team, the Falcons shot .482 from the field for the year and a .373 percentage from three point land.  UTPB finished second in scoring, field goal percentage, and free throw percentage in the LSC.

Senior Pat Dembely was named to the Lone Star Conference All-Conference Second Team, after one of the most prolific season's in program history.  Dembley scored the second most points in a season in program history, finishing with 702.  In addition to his scoring prowess, Dembley set the program record for assists in a single season with 157 and steals with 71.  The senior also finished with 97 three-pointers, fourth most in a season in program history.

Newman led the Falcons to a 15-14 season and a seventh-place finish in the LSC in his first year at UTPB with a roster that featured no returners from the year prior.
  
UTPB led the Lone Star Conference in a number of offensive categories in 2018-19 and averaged a league-best 85.3 points per game. The Falcons were also league-leaders in field goal percentage (49.4), 3-point field goal percentage (38.0), and defensive rebounds per game (28.3).
 
Junior Jacob Ledoux was named the 2019 Lone Star Conference Newcomer of the Year and to the All-Conference First Team. Ledoux led all players in the LSC with 18.1 points per game. He had a season-best 36 points in a win over Western New Mexico, one of two games this season over 30 points. Ledoux had at least 20 points in 10 different games and scored in double figures 25 times.
 
He ranked second in the league in hitting 81.2 percent from the free throw line, was 13th in the conference averaging 2.5 assists per game (69 total), and 11th in the league with 39 steals.
 
Prior to UTPB, Newman spent 12 seasons as head coach at Arkansas-Fort Smith. After transitioning from a junior college program, he helped guide UAFS to a 168-96 record as an NCAA Division II program over nine seasons. During that time, the Lions won five Heartland Conference Championships, one Heartland Conference Tournament Championship and made four trips to the NCAA Tournament over five seasons.
 
Before making the move to NCAA DII, Newman was 70-25 in the NJCAA at UAFS with a pair of semifinal appearances in the region tournament and two top-5 national rankings.
 
Previously, Newman spent three season as an assistant coach at the University of Nevada. The Wolfpack were 77-22 in those three seasons, winning the WAC regular season championship all three years with two WAC Tournament Championships and a pair of NCAA Tournament selections with a trip to the Sweet 16.
 
After starting his coaching career with one year at Westark (UAFS) College, he spent two seasons at McLennan Community College in Waco and then was an assistant for two seasons at South Plains College in Levelland where the Texans went 61-9 with consecutive conference championships and national tournament appearances.
 
Newman graduated from Arizona State with a Bachelor's Degree in history and has his Master's Degree in sports studies from Texas A&M – Commerce.

Josh and his wife, Rita, are the parents of three children; Troy, Alexis and Daniella.