| Richard Hogans |
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This past summer, Antonio Anderson was called "a beast" by a national college basketball writer -- and that was a compliment. Head coach John Calipari has marveled on several occasions this off-season about Willie Kemp's body transformation.
All of it is the work the Memphis players put in the strength and conditioning program under the direction of Richard Hogans, who is in his fourth year as the Tigers' Director of Performance Enhancement. In his first three years with the program, Hogans' desire, intensity and passion for strength and conditioning has been infectious, winning over the coaches and players.
And the work has paid off for the Tigers. The last two seasons (2005-06, 2006-07) have seen Memphis take their fans on magical rides from early November through the month of March Madness.
Last year, Hogans was a member of the staff that helped Memphis to another record-setting campaign. The Tigers won a school-record tying 33 games for a second-straight season (33-4 record) and captured their second-consecutive Conference USA regular season and tournament titles. The back-to-back outright regular season crowns were a first for the Memphis program, and the consecutive tournament championships were the Tigers first since they won two-straight Metro Conference Tournaments in 1984 and 1985. Memphis advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight for a second-straight year (2006, 2007), marking the first time in school history that happened.
The 2006-07 Tigers also pulled a first in Conference USA history. Memphis posted a perfect 16-0 regular season mark and captured the league's postseason tournament. The Tigers were the second squad in C-USA history to go 16-0 in the regular season as Cincinnati did so in 1999-2000. That Bearcat team, though, did not win the Conference USA Tournament title. The Tigers received a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and finished in the top 10 in both national polls (No. 5/AP; No. 7/ESPN-USA Today).
The 2005-06 year went down as one of the best in school history. Memphis posted a 33-4 record and won the Conference USA regular season and tournament titles. The 33 victories set a school single-season record for victories and the sweep of the conference regular season and tournament crowns was accomplished for the first time since 1984-85. The 2005-06 Memphis squad earned the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1992. The Tigers finished the season ranked in the top 10 of both national polls (No. 4/AP; No. 6/ESPN-USA Today). Those final rankings were the highest in Memphis basketball history.
In 2004-05, the Tigers played into late March, advancing to the NIT semifinals. Memphis posted a 22-16 record and was the Conference USA Tournament runner-up.
Hogans joined the Memphis staff in September of 2004, coming to the school from his position as a personal trainer and fitness director. Hogans was owner of NEXGEN Personal Training Services Inc., and served as Fitness Director/Director of Sports Specific Training at the DeSoto Athletic Club in Southaven, Miss.
Prior to his career in personal training, Hogans served on the Memphis Xplorers staff in the 2002 season as the offensive and defensive line coach and strength and conditioning coach.
Before jumping into the coaching ranks, Hogans played professional football in the NFL, NFL Europe and XFL.
Following his collegiate career at Memphis, Hogans was selected by the Chicago Bears in the sixth round of the 1997 NFL Draft. He stayed with the Bears organization from 1997-98, but was sidelined his rookie season with an ACL tear. From 1998 through 2000, Hogans was with the San Diego Chargers and also played with the Rhien Fire and Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe. In 2000, Hogans led NFL Europe in total tackles and was selected to the NFL Europe All-Defensive Team.
Hogans played with the XFL's Memphis Maniax in 2000-01 and served as the team's captain. In March of 2001, Hogans was acquired by the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, but shortly after, had to retire from professional football with an eye injury.
The Columbus, Ga., native was a four-year letterman for the Tiger football squad from 1993-96. A 1993 Sporting News Freshman All-America second team pick, Hogans finished his career with 307 total tackles, 24 TFLs and eight quarterback sacks. The 6-foot-2 linebacker was a 1996 All-Conference USA first team pick, after being named to the league's second team in 1995. The 1996 Butkus Award candidate served as a team captain that season and led the squad with 128 total hits. For his performance in 1996, Hogans was named the team's Defensive Player of the Year.
Hogans graduated from Memphis' Fogelman College of Business with a degree in Management Information Systems. He is certified by the National Strength Coaches Association (NSCA) and International Sports Sciences of America
Hogans and his wife, Wendy, have three children -- two sons, Dylan (16) and R.J. (10), and a daughter, Olivia (6).
