University of North Georgia Athletics

Dan Evans enters his seventh season as head coach of the men's basketball program after being named the fourth coach in program history in April 2019.

Evans has quickly led North Georgia to becoming one of the top NCAA Division II programs in the country. The Nighthawks have broken numerous records en route to groundbreaking accomplishments within the program.

Most recently, Evans guided guard AJ White to becoming the second-leading scorer in program history in the 2024-25 season. White, a PBC All-Conference selection, has scored 1,549 points in his career and is on track to become the program’s all-time leading scorer.

In the 2023-24 season, Evans led the Nighthawks to the best season in program history as UNG collected a Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championship, NCAA Southeast Regional Championship and appearance in the Elite Eight all for the first time in program history. The Nighthawks won a record 28 games with just seven losses. Senior Frank Champion led the team and PBC in nearly every major statistical category as he was named a National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-American for the second consecutive season. The season was highlighted by one of the best nights in North Georgia men’s basketball history as UNG took down PBC rival Lander 70-67 in front of a school record near 3,800 fans at the UNG Convocation Center to win the Southeast Regional and punch its ticket to the Elite Eight.

Prior to 2024, Evans set a new standard for the men's basketball program in the 2022-23 campaign. He led the Nighthawks to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance and win, first national top-25 ranking and the most wins in a single season (21) in the NCAA era (2005-present).

Evans coached the program's first PBC and Southeast Region Player of the Year recipient in 2023 in Frank Champion and added a second PBC Freshman of the Year honoree to the roster in AJ White.

On Jan. 5, 2022, Evans notched his 100th career head coaching victory when the Nighthawks downed Georgia Southwestern in the UNG Convocation Center. 

In his first season at the helm, Evans led the Nighthawks to a PBC Tournament berth after being picked to finish 10th in the preseason league poll. He coached Ephraim Tshimanga to Defensive Player of the Year and All-Conference honors while leading KJ Jenkins to be the Freshman of the Year.
 
Evans landed in Dahlonega after a six-year stint as the head coach at NCAA Division II Ohio Dominican in Columbus, Ohio where he led his team to 76 wins including a 37-12 mark over the past two seasons. ODU’s streak of three consecutive winning seasons marks the first time since 2005. His 76 wins puts him as the third winningest coach in ODU history.
 
For the first five years in Evans’ tenure at ODU, the Panthers increased their win total from the previous year, including a remarkable run to winning the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Tournament Championship and earning a bid to the NCAA Midwest Regional berth in 2018. The Panthers defeated Malone, No. 11 Findlay and Hillsdale to claim the conference tournament title before closing their season with a setback to eventual national champion Ferris State in the NCAA Tournament. ODU finished with a 20-11 record as the Panthers won 12 of their last 13 games to enter the NCAA Tournament.
 
Evans was hired in May of 2013 by ODU to lead the Panthers after spending the previous six seasons as an assistant coach at Hillsdale College where he was part of a coaching staff that rebuilt the Hillsdale basketball program.

Evans played his collegiate ball at Lawrence University, a Division III school in Wisconsin, where he was a three-year starter and captain. He earned all-conference honors as a senior and helped take Lawrence to the Elite Eight in 2004.

Evans and his wife, Amy, have two children, TR & Maddie.

Updated: June 2025