Wicks Announces the Addition of Former Cowboy Chris McMillian to Coaching Staff

He was a standout for the Pokes from 1998-2003

LARAMIE, Wyo.  (May 6, 2025) –Cowboy basketball head coach Sundance Wicks announced on Tuesday the addition of former Cowboy Chris McMillian to the coaching staff. A standout for the Brown and Gold from 1998-2003, he helped lead the Pokes to a pair of Mountain West titles and an NCAA Tournament Berth.

"When it comes to hiring, I am constantly seeking out energy givers, men of high intentionality, artists of their craft, enemies of the status quo and high character humans who know what it takes to compete and win at the highest level,” Wicks Said. This final hire of the off-season is a special one.  I knew we needed to continue to find ways to bridge our past with our present.  I knew we needed to find a coach with serious blood in the bricks who has been a part of Winning at Wyoming.  We found that coach in Chris McMillian.  C-Mac is fifth all-time in assists and ninth all-time in steals, but more importantly he has championship pedigree at Wyoming helping the Pokes win back-to-back Mountain West Conference Championships in 2001 & 2002.  Coach McMillian bleeds Brown & Gold!” Coach McMillian’s relentless approach to attacking each day is what immediately stood out to me in the interview process.  He is a swiss-army knife as a coach, he has done it all and is extremely intentional about how he goes about his work, squeezing the juice out of every day.  He is a winner, and he is about winning above all else.  We could not be more excited to bring Chris back to Laradise with his wife Megan and two beautiful daughters!  Please help me welcome Chris McMillian back to Cowboy Country!”

A native of Brea, Calif., he was a key part of the Cowboys during his career, McMillian appeared in 125 career games for the Brown and Gold. He still ranks fifth in career assists with 434 and ninth in steals with 136. His 13 assists in a game against Delaware State in 2000 still ranks third in single-game school history. He also holds mark in the top-10 in single-season assist average and steals.  

“It feels like Christmas morning being able to come back to the University of Wyoming,” McMillian said. “I had a chance to win championships for the Cowboys as a player, and never did I think I would have the opportunity to come back as a coach. When I got into coaching in 2009 coming back was always a dream of mine and now that it is here it is amazing. I’m looking forward to working with Coach Wicks and the Staff.”

McMillian comes back to Wyoming after serving as associate head coach at Central Michigan. He helped lead the Chips with a 12-6 league record in 2023-24. CMU’s 12 league victories were the most since the 2014-15 season. In the offseason, the coaching staff rebuilt CMU’s roster with only four players returning as they added 12 new players and blended them into a team that challenged for the league title. In the preseason coaches’ poll, CMU was picked to finish in 12th place out of 12 teams.

Prior to his post at Central Michigan, McMillian spent two seasons at Idaho State (2019-21), helping lead the Bengals to a victory in the 2020 Big Sky Tournament, marking the first time the program won a game in the conference tournament since 2009.

McMillian served as the Director of Player Performance at Illinois-Chicago for four years, overseeing the design and implementation of the Flames' strength and conditioning program.

McMillian's resume also includes stops as an assistant coach at the College of Southern Idaho (2014-15) and at Hawaii (2010-14), where he served first as the strength coach and video coordinator before being promoted to the director of basketball operations. He began his coaching career as the director of operations at Centenary College in 2009-10.

He holds a bachelor's degree in communications from Wyoming, a master’s degree in Educational Administration from Hawaii in 2013 and is a certified member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

McMillian and his wife, Megan, have two daughters, Zoe Rae and Cameron Nicole.