2018-19 Media Guide Bio (PDF)
Joe Esposito was added to the UNLV men's basketball staff in June of 2018 as special assistant to the head coach.
Esposito came to Las Vegas after spending the previous 11 years working under Hall of Famer Tubby Smith as an assistant coach at Minnesota, Texas Tech and Memphis.Â
Esposito possesses three decades of coaching experience, including 29 at the collegiate level. While at Memphis, he played an integral part in signing the top recruiting class (2017-18) in the American Athletic Conference. The Tigers averaged 20 wins per season during his two seasons there and advanced to the semifinals of the AAC Tournament in March 2018.
Prior to Memphis, Esposito spent three years as an assistant coach at Texas Tech, where his responsibilities included player development, scouting and recruiting. He helped the Red Raiders attract its best recruiting classes in more than a decade, which helped propel the team to the 2016 NCAA Tournament. That team closed out the regular season by winning six of their last eight games and the turnaround was the biggest in the Big 12 with the Red Raiders completing a six-game improvement from the year prior in arguably the toughest conference in the nation. Esposito's efforts helped Coach Smith earn the Big 12's Coach of the Year award, the John R. Wooden Legends In Coaching Award and he was also recognized by the Sporting News as its Coach of the Year for the rebuilding effort that season.Â
At Minnesota with Esposito on the staff, the Gophers advanced to the postseason five times, including three NCAA Tournament appearances (2009, 2010, 2013) and two NIT invites (2008, 2012). In 2013, Minnesota recorded its first NCAA Tournament victory in 13 years, advancing to the third round, and in 2012 the team advanced to the NIT championship game.
Before his time in Minnesota, Esposito handled the head coaching duties for a season at Villages Charter High School, which is located in Central Florida. He led the Buffaloes to their best record in school history and to the Class 3A District 7 Semifinals.
Esposito was also a head coach at Division II Angelo State for eight seasons. He left as the winningest coach by percentage in school history and was the second head coach in the history of the program to reel off five consecutive winning seasons. In 2000-01, the Rams advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time in 10 years and the third time in school history. Angelo State won the Lone Star Conference South Division Championship with a 22-8 record, which tied the highest single-season win total in school history. In addition, Esposito was voted LSC South Coach of the Year in 2001.
Esposito played a vital role for the Tennessee State Tigers from 1995-98, and was responsible for recruiting three Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year award winners. His 1996-97 and 1997-98 recruiting classes were ranked among the nation’s top 30 by Hoop Scoop. He also worked as an academic counselor while at Tennessee State.
He took over as interim head coach at NCAA Division II powerhouse Assumption College in 1995 after a six-year stint as assistant and associate head coach. The Greyhounds rattled off three straight Northeast-10 Conference Championships, and notched a pair of NCAA Division II regional appearances. Assumption also set single-season records for wins and winning streaks at the school with Esposito on staff.
Esposito also worked as an assistant coach at Roosevelt High School in Hyde Park, and The Villages Charter High School in The Villages.Â
A native of The Bronx, New York, Esposito earned his bachelor of science degree in computer science form Marist College in 1988, and a master's of science degree in sports administration and coaching from the United States Sports Academy in 1990.Â
He and his wife, Mary, have two sons, Jordan and Jacob, along with two daughters, Shay and Harmony.
