ODESSA, Texas (July 19, 2024) – UT Permian Basin Athletics has announced the hiring of Paul Chavez as the new Head Coach of the men's and women's golf programs. Chavez recently served as the Head Golf Coach at Odessa College, where he coached three NJCAA National Championship men's golf teams.

UTPB Interim Vice President for Athletics Scott Farmer said, "We are very excited to welcome Coach Paul Chavez to the Falcon family as our new Head Men's and Women's Golf Coach. He brings a wealth of experience and success to our department. Not only is Paul from the area, but he has coached in the area and has won national championships. His previous successes both in the classroom and on the golf course will be experiences to draw on while mentoring our student-athletes."

After 31 years of service to Odessa College, including 26 years as the Head Golf Coach, Coach Chavez announced his retirement at the conclusion of the 2023 season. Over his tenure as the Head Golf Coach, Odessa achieved wide success not only on the golf course but in the classroom. Coach Chavez guided the Wranglers to three NJCAA D1 Golf National Championships in 2004, 2005 and most recently in 2017. In addition to the three national titles, Odessa finished in the top-five 16 times.

Coach Chavez said, "I would first and foremost like to thank Dr. Sandra Woodley and Mr. Scott Farmer for their trust in me to lead the UTPB golf program. I have a passion for coaching and helping student-athletes develop academically, athletically and socially. After taking one year off from coaching, I have found that I still have that same drive and passion to do what I was able to do for 26 years. Odessa is my hometown, and I feel like I can come in a make an impact here and help take this golf program to a higher level. I look forward to bringing home national championships."

Chavez has been honored five times as the NJCAA National Coach of the Year and has been inducted into the NJCAA Golf Coaches Hall of Fame (2007), the Western Junior College Athletic Conference Hall of Fame (2014), the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame (2017), and the Odessa Athletic Hall of Fame (2021).

As successful as the Wranglers have been on the golf course, their academic achievements are notable: The team achieved a 3.0 grade point average or better in each of Coach Chavez's 20 final seasons and the 2021-22 team was named NJCAA Men's Golf Academic Team of the Year with a 3.61 team GPA.

"My number one goal is to graduate our student-athletes," continued Coach Chavez. "The second goal is to develop our student-athletes as players and as people, and the final goal is to bring in that top talent that it is going to make this a program that competes for national championships. I have been able to do that at the junior college level, and I do not think that is going to change at all. It is all about development and relationships, regardless of the level."

Chavez has coached 41 NJCAA All-Americans, 30 GCAA All-Americans, 12 NJCAA Academic All-Americans, 64 All-Region, 49 All-State, and 81 All-Conference players. Over 121 Odessa College golfers have continued their athletic and academic careers at the four-year level and seven former Wranglers are playing professionally on the PGA Tour or LIV Tour.

In his final season at Odessa College in 2023, Coach Chavez helped guide the Wrangler men's golf team to a second-place finish at the NJCAA championships in Newton, Kansas, while the women's golf team finished their inaugural season with a fourth-place finish at nationals.

Coach Chavez concluded by saying, "One of things that drew me back into coaching and coming out of retirement was making a difference in young people's life and creating a powerhouse program that the people and community of West Texas can be proud of. Growing the game of golf is something that is very important to me, and I believe UTPB is a place where we can do that and where we can build something very special."