Kansas men’s head basketball coach Bill Self announced Ronnie Chalmers as director of basketball operations on June 28.

“Throughout this past year I’ve had a chance to get to know Ronnie on a personal and professional basis and have been very impressed with his knowledge and ability to work with people,” Self said.

Chalmers, father of incoming freshman Mario Chalmers, comes from Anchorage, Alaska, where he was head basketball coach for five seasons as at Bartlett High School. At Bartlett, he had a 109-28 record, led his team to consecutive state championships in 2002 and 2003 and became state championship runner-up in 2004.

The Wayland Baptist University graduate brings with him more than 20 years of basketball coaching experience. Since 1985, he has served in both assistant and head coaching positions with Air Force squads as well as high school and summer league teams.

“He has a long military background and excellent basketball portfolio and we felt he would be a great addition to our staff, filling a position that was void this past year,” Self said.

As director of basketball operations, Chalmers will once again join his son on the sidelines. Their player-coach relationship started during Mario’s sixth grade year, but Ronnie said that Mario’s decision to come to Kansas was Mario’s alone.

“This is a great opportunity to get my foot in the door at the college level, follow my son and be a part of one of the best programs in the country,” Chalmers said.