BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University head men's basketball coach Alvin Brooks has signed a three-year extension announced Vice President and Director of Athletics Jeff O'Malley Wednesday morning. The extension will carry Brooks through the 2027-28 academic year.
 
"I am very excited to be able to announce this contract extension for Coach Brooks. He has done a tremendous job for Lamar University during his first four years in the Golden Triangle each year improving on the previous. Last season, he placed the Cardinals on the verge of another NCAA tournament berth. Alvin has a love for this university and this community. He played his college ball here, he got his coaching career started here, he is a member of the Cardinal Hall of Honor and now I'm proud to announce that he will be here for the next three years."
 
Brooks was hired before the 2021-22 season to help build the Red and White back to its former glory. During his four seasons at the helm, Brooks has won 50 games with the Cardinals and has produced more wins in each following season. Brooks guides his squad into the 2025-26 campaign looking to be just the third squad in school history to record an improved win total in five consecutive seasons and the first since the 1973-74 through 1978-79 squads (the other stretch came from 1958-59 through 1962-63).
 
The Cardinals followed up a 19-win season in 2023-24 by posting a 20-win campaign this past year, the program's first since 2018-19. The Cardinals also locked up the league's No. 2 overall seed in the tournament it's best finish since 2008, and advanced to the Southland Conference Championship game just missing out on the league's automatic berth in the finals.
 
"I am really pleased and humbled to be receiving this extension and for the faith Jeff O'Malley, Dr. Taylor and the entire university administration have in me and my staff giving us the opportunity to finish what we started," said Brooks. "My goal for this program after being gone for 35 years was to rebuild it to where we are competing for conference championships every year. I knew that was going to take some time. I had studied the history of the program from the previous three decades, so I knew it was not going to be a quick turnaround. I felt like if by year three, if we build it the right way, then we would take off and we did – year three we won 19 games and last year we won 20. I am very grateful for an opportunity to continue at my alma mater and have a chance to compete for a conference championship."
 
The Cardinals enter the new season with three returning starters and six returning letterwinners. That number does not include B.B. Knight (10.7 ppg, 37 percent three-point shooter in 2023-24) who was sidelined last season with an injury.
 
Brooks was hired as the 13th head coach in program history (Billy Tubbs was head coach at two different times).