TOP SPORTS STORY 2024 #5: Mountain Brook native named Chief of Staff with Samford hoops

Warren Fitzpatrick will soon enter his fourth year working for the Samford University men’s basketball program.

This season, he assumes a new title: Chief of Staff.

Fitzpatrick, a Mountain Brook native, was promoted to the role after serving as Director of Basketball Operations for the past two years. He began his tenure with Samford basketball as a graduate assistant in 2021.

In his new role, Fitzpatrick said he will be able to gain even more experience on the coaching side of the game, as well as helping the program fund raise and allocate its resources efficiently.

As a director of ops at a Division I basketball program, Fitzpatrick was constantly dealt with various challenges, figuring out travel logistics and any other hurdles that arose.

“In operations, there’s a lot going on and a lot of moving parts and a lot of pieces coming together,” he said. “Not everything works the way you want it to.”

Fitzpatrick is a 2017 graduate of Mountain Brook High School, playing basketball and football primarily. He made his way to Samford after deciding to run track his senior year, doing so well he earned a spot on the team at Samford.

Within a year, he was on scholarship. By the time he was done, the 4x400-meter relay team he anchored had broken the school record four times.

His athletic career concluded with the timing of Samford hiring Bucky McMillan to lead the basketball program. Fitzpatrick had played for McMillan’s program at MBHS and sought out his former coach. The only position available for Fitzpatrick to get back into basketball would be as a volunteer graduate assistant, but he jumped at the opportunity and has made the most of it ever since.

“I said, ‘Sign me up.’ This is the one shot I’ll get. I went for it and it was the best decision I ever made — aside from the decision to go to Samford originally,” Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick has witnessed firsthand the recent success of the Samford basketball program, as the Bulldogs won the Southern Conference Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season. He said, “This is the beginning, not the end,” in terms of the program’s rise.

He has no grand visions of what’s ahead. Working in college basketball doesn’t always allow for that sort of big picture thinking.

“These seasons are so long, I don’t even ever think past the week ahead,” he said. “I don’t really have a plan. My plan is to continue to see where God opens and closes doors and be where my feet are.”