Joining the Roadrunners from the coaching staff at UIW, Chris Artis was announced as UTSA’s director of operations in June 2023. Artis coordinates travel, meals and budgets for the Roadrunners, while also serving some responsibilities in working with the shooting guards.
"Chris is a terrific addition to our program," head coach Steve Henson said at the time of his hire. "He will oversee all our program operations, will be heavily involved in the X's and O's and skill development and assist on the court. He played collegiately and overseas as a professional, and is also an experienced coach. Chris is a high-character man, and I'm very confident he will be a terrific mentor for our players and have a big impact on our program."Bringing UTSA an extensive basketball history as a player in the collegiate and professional ranks, and as a high school, post-graduate and college coach, Chris Artis joins the Roadrunners after four seasons at Incarnate Word. After starting as the Cardinals' director of basketball operations in April 2019, he moved into an assistant coach role after only one season. Making an early impact, Artis helped UIW improve its conference win total by five victories in his first season, assisting the Cardinals in reaching their highest win total in seven years during the 2022-23 campaign.
"I am excited to join the Roadrunner family," Artis said. "I appreciate Coach Henson for the opportunity to work with this great staff that I've watched work over the last four years. I look forward to working with the staff, the team and the athletic department to push the program forward and bring this team success."
Artis came to UIW from Calumet College of St. Joseph in Whiting, Indiana, marking his second stint with the program. From 2015-19, Artis served as the associate head coach for the Crimson Wave, assisting the team in reaching new heights, as the 2016-17 team earned its second Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) regular-season title and its first NAIA Division II tournament bid. During the 2018-19 campaign, Calumet started with a 12-0 record, earning its highest national ranking at 20th during the campaign.
Prior to his second stretch at Calumet, Artis was promoted to head high school boys basketball coach at Don Bosco Institute in Crown Point, Indiana in 2014-15, after starting as the post-graduate associate head coach in the 2013-14 season when the school was Midwest Elite Preparatory High School. In Artis' two-year stretch, the program sent nine players to NCAA Division I programs and two more to Division II schools.
Artis' first collegiate coaching role was at Calumet, where he served nine seasons as an assistant coach (2004-13). During his third season with the Crimson Wave, Artis helped coach the 2006-07 squad to a 21-7 record, its first CCAC Championship and a No. 26 NAIA Division II ranking. That team produced numerous all-conference players, including Wilfredo Escobar, who later earned All-America honorable mention (2010-11).
Artis enjoyed a noteworthy career as an NCAA DI player at Valparaiso, helping lead the 1995-96 Valpo squad to its first Mid-Continent Conference regular season championship, MCC tournament championship and its first NCAA tournament appearance. As a senior team captain, Artis earned All-Mid-Continent Conference honors, after leading the Crusaders to repeat on both titles and return to the NCAA tournament. After college, his career led him to professional playing opportunities in Australia, Norway, France, and Uruguay.