Howard Payne University announced Friday the hiring of HPU alumni Tony Starnes as assistant men’s basketball coach.

With over three decades of coaching basketball, Tony Starnes has experience at the high school level as a head coach in Texas and Kansas, and as an assistant and head coach at the junior college and NAIA levels.

“We are excited to have Coach Starnes back at Howard Payne,” said head coach Nadir Dalleh. “His knowledge and experience will be invaluable to our program and our community.”
Coach Starnes spent the last three seasons at Arlington Baptist University serving as an assistant coach while helping lead them to the NCCAA national tournament twice and a 2021-22 NCCAA National Championship.

“I have been blessed to work with some great coaches like David Harrison (HPU), Mark Wendall (N. Mesquite), Jim Sigona (Colin County), Bubby Jenkins (Arlington Baptist), and now Nadir Dalleh at Howard Payne,” said Tony Starnes. “I am looking forward to what we can accomplish at HPU and the future of Yellow Jacket basketball.”

His collegiate coaching tenures were at Arlington Baptist from 2021-2024 as an assistant, as the head coach at Clarendon College from 2001 to 2014, as an assistant at Collin County CC from 1999-2001/2014-2016, and as an assistant at Howard Payne University from 1990-1992.

As a college coach, he led 12 different teams to NJCAA or NAIA playoffs, coached the NJCAA national scoring champions from 2009-2011 (98 ppg and 103 ppg), was named the WJCAC Coach of the Year in 2004, and was named the Clarendon College Employee of the Year in 2012.

He has head high school coaching stints at Dodge City HS (KS) from 2017-2020, North Hopkins HS (KS) from 2016-2017, North Mesquite HS (TX) from 1995-1999, and Dodd City HS (TX) from 1993-1995.

As a high school coach, he led seven teams to UIL State playoff appearances in Texas and led three teams to the KSHSAA State Playoffs in Kansas.

Coach Starnes also has college athletic administrative experience serving as an assistant athletic director and athletic director at Clarendon College from 2005 to 2010.

He also has several years of experience with high school boys and girls basketball spring, summer, and fall programs, leagues, and team camps as well as individual instruction, and directing and working at more than 200 basketball camps and/or clinics.

He is married to Jayne Starnes for more than 35 years and they have two grown children, Bailey and Ryann.