PROVO, Utah - BYU men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope announced Nate Austin as the program’s Director of Basketball Operations on Tuesday.
“We are happy to have Nate, Kim and the kids back at BYU. His knowledge of BYU and its rich history is going to be valuable as we enter our first season in the Big 12,” Pope said. “Nate is one of the toughest players that I have ever had the opportunity to coach and that is going to translate to helping us be successful in every aspect of the program. He excelled here as a graduate assistant and had a terrific run as the head coach at Grantsville High School.”
The program’s all-time leader in games played returns to Provo after serving as an assistant coach at Salt Lake Community College since May. As an assistant at SLCC, he helped with academics, player development, recruiting and graphic creation.
“I’m thrilled to be back at BYU. I love it here,” Austin added. “I’m humbled, grateful, and excited to be part of Coach Pope’s staff and this era of BYU basketball. I’m eager to serve the student-athletes and build relationships with them.”
He spent the prior three years as the head boy’s basketball coach at Grantsville High School. Under his tutelage, the Cowboys went 55-17 including an appearance in the Utah 3A State Championship Game in 2022.
Austin served as a graduate assistant for BYU from 2018-20 helping the Cougars go 25-8 and on their way to a top 6-seed in the NCAA tournament in Pope’s first season in charge before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Lone Peak High School.
Austin appeared in a program record 153 games during his time as a Cougars (2011-16) where he helped BYU win two NCAA tournament games and earn a pair of trips to the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden.
He finished his career with 289 offensive rebounds, the second-most in program history. He also ranks sixth in offensive rebounds in a single season (90, 2013-14) and 13th in career rebounds (792). One of his 89 career blocks came in the final seconds in BYU’s 69-68 victory over No. 25 Gonzaga at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
He graduated with his Bachelor of Arts from BYU in 2016, earning a Masters of Arts in mass communications in 2020. He is married to Kim and the couple has two children.