Rick Karius joined the Utah State men's basketball staff as the video coordinator for the 2018-19 season, but will also help with travel and daily operations after bringing a diverse skill set that has been developed over a near 10-year career in coaching.
Karius came to USU from the University of South Dakota, where he served as the director of basketball operations the previous two seasons with Craig Smith in Vermillion, S.D. During his tenure, the Coyotes advanced to a pair of postseason appearances in the NIT and CBI, and captured a Summit League title during the 2016-17 season.
Prior to USD, Karius served as the director of basketball operations at Green Bay and Bradley. While at Green Bay, Karius was on a staff that advanced to the National Invitational Tournament two years in a row and won the Horizon League regular season championship in the 2013-14 season. Green Bay had two players that advanced to the NBA during his tenure in forward Alfonzo McKinnie, currently with the Golden State Warriors, and Alec Brown, the 50th pick by the Phoenix Suns in the 2014 NBA Draft.
Karius was a four-year letter winner at Wisconsin-La Crosse where he earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting in 2009. He proceeded to Southwest Minnesota State where he served as an assistant coach for the Mustangs men’s team. A year later he was the head assistant at UW-Superior then returned to La-Crosse in 2011 to serve in the same capacity.
Karius is a native of Chilton, Wisconsin. He earned his master’s degree in business administration from Southwest Minnesota State in 2014. His fiancée, Kayla Tetschlag, is currently an assistant women’s basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin.