Schaefer was named the Bulldogs’ head coach on March 13, 2012, replacing Sharon Fanning-Otis who retired at the end of the 2012 season. In his tenure at MSU Schaefer has led the Bulldogs to five NCAA tournaments, Four Sweet Sixteen appearances, 3 Elite 8 appearances, 2 Final Fours, and 2 National Runner-up finishes. He also guided MSU to 2 SEC Championship and 1 SEC Tournament Championship, the only conference titles for MSU in any women's team sport. The 2016–17 team made college basketball history by defeating No. 1 Connecticut 66–64 in overtime in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. That victory snapped the Huskies’ record 111-game win streak and sent the Bulldogs to the national championship game in their first Final Four appearance. The UConn win garnered MSU the 2017 ESPY for Best Upset and Morgan William a Best Play nomination for her winning bucket.[2]
With a 74–68 win at Marquette on November 25, 2019, Schaefer earned his 200th victory as the head coach at Mississippi State. It was just his 256th game at State, making him the second-fastest coach ever to achieve the milestone with an SEC program ahead of hall-of-fame coaches Joe Ciampi (258 games), Pat Summitt (259), Van Chancellor (263), Jim Foster (280) and Sue Gunter (280). Only Georgia's Andy Landers (251) reached the mark at a faster pace.[3]
Texas
Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic prematurely ended the 2019–20 season, Schaefer left Mississippi State to fill the head coaching vacancy at Texas.[4] The timing of the move was unfortunate, as it came shortly after he and his wife had completed a new house on an 80-acre (32 ha) farm near the Bulldogs' home of Starkville. Nonetheless, in June 2020, Schaefer told M.A. Voepel of ESPN,[5]
Texas is where I'm from. I will be 65 miles from where I spent weekends at my grandmother's house, and where my mother and father are buried, in La Grange, Texas. I'll be 2 hours and 40 minutes from my older sister, who was also my kindergarten teacher.
Voepel added more detail to Schaefer's ties to the state, noting:[5]
Schaefer was born in Austin at a hospital across the street from where the Longhorns' Frank Erwin Center would later be built. He grew up in Houston, graduated from Texas A&M, and spent most of his coaching career in the Lone Star State.
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
Conference regular season champion
Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
Division regular season champion
Division regular season and conference tournament champion
Conference tournament champion
†NCAA canceled all postseason activities for all college sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
