# Billy Mims

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**Billy Mims** is an American [basketball](/source/Basketball) coach who was the head coach of [Florida Tech Panthers](/source/Florida_Tech_Panthers) from 2005 to 2025.

## Coaching career

### Greater London Leopards

Mims was recruited to his first professional head coaching role to lead the fledging [Leopards](/source/Essex_Leopards_(1994-2003)) franchise in their inaugural [BBL](/source/British_Basketball_League) season in 1994. A charismatic and animated figure, Mims developed the Leopards on-court, culminating in winning the BBL Cup in 1997, and BBL Championship titles in 1997 and 1998, the latter rewarding him with the BBL Coach of the Year title.[1]

### Leicester Riders

After leaving the Leopards during the 1999–00 season, Mims was appointed head coach at the struggling [Leicester Riders](/source/Leicester_Riders). The Riders had started the season 0–18, and had made the post season Playoffs in just one season in the prior five. Following Mims' appointment, the Riders saved face to finish the season with a 10–26 record. The following season, with odds against the Riders once more, the team confounded expectations to win the 2001 BBL Playoffs and National Cup.[2][3] As the oldest basketball club in the United Kingdom, this was the first silverware the club had ever won.[4] The success could not last, however, and following poor seasons in 2002 and 2003, and a difficult start to the 2003–04 season, the Riders parted company with Mims.[5]

### Florida Tech

After one year at the [UT Permian Basin Falcons](/source/UT_Permian_Basin_Falcons), Mims was appointed head coach of the [Florida Tech Panthers](/source/Florida_Tech_Panthers) in June 2005.[6] In 2018, Mims became the all-time winningest coach in Florida Tech history.[7][8] He stepped down at the end of the 2024–25 season. His overall record with the program is 273–279.[9]

## Broadcasting career

Mims regularly worked as a basketball pundit for [Sky Sports](/source/Sky_Sports) in their coverage of the [NBA](/source/NBA) and [BBL](/source/British_Basketball_League), a role he first took on in his days as coach of the [Leopards](/source/Essex_Leopards_(1994-2003)) in London.

## References

1. ["Molten BBL Coach of the Year Records"](http://www.bbl.org.uk/coach-of-the-season-records/)

1. ["Underdogs Leicester lift trophy"](http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/1315047.stm). May 5, 2001. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160317015643/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/1315047.stm) March 17, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 20, 2020. – via news.bbc.co.uk.

1. ["Mims stays with the Riders"](http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/3099840.stm). September 11, 2003. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20241130222800/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/3099840.stm) November 30, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 20, 2020. – via news.bbc.co.uk.

1. ["Riders hope for smooth journey"](http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/1284081.stm). April 18, 2001. – via news.bbc.co.uk.

1. ["Riders sack Mims"](http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/3277581.stm). November 17, 2003. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20241130223008/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/3277581.stm) November 30, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 20, 2020. – via news.bbc.co.uk.

1. ["Florida Tech Names Billy Mims Men's Basketball Coach"](https://newsroom.fit.edu/2005/06/27/florida-tech-names-billy-mims-mens-basketball-coach/). *Florida Tech Newsroom*. June 27, 2005.

1. ["All-Time Winningest Basketball Coach in Florida Tech History, Billy Mims Notched 600th Career Win In 2018"](https://spacecoastdaily.com/2018/05/all-time-winningest-basketball-coach-in-florida-tech-history-billy-mims-notched-600th-career-win-in-2018/). *spacecoastdaily.com*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20201025090422/https://spacecoastdaily.com/2018/05/all-time-winningest-basketball-coach-in-florida-tech-history-billy-mims-notched-600th-career-win-in-2018/) 2020-10-25 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-05-20.

1. ["Head Coach Billy Mims Earns 600th Victory as Panthers Defeat Sailfish"](https://newsroom.fit.edu/2018/02/19/billy-mims-earns-600th-victory-panthers-defeat-sailfish/). *Florida Tech Newsroom*. February 19, 2018.

1. ["Mims Steps Down as Men’s Basketball Coach"](https://floridatechsports.com/news/2025/3/14/mens-basketball-mims-steps-down-as-mens-basketball-coach.aspx). *Florida Tech Sports*. Retrieved 11 May 2026.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Billy Mims](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Mims) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Mims?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.