ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's basketball team and head coach Billy Taylor announced Tuesday, July 8, the addition of Courtney Eldridge to the program's coaching staff. Eldridge joins the Phoenix as an assistant coach after spending the previous 10 seasons on the Iowa men's basketball staff.
 
"I'm thrilled to reunite with Courtney Eldridge and officially welcome him to Elon University as an assistant coach," said Taylor. "Having had the opportunity to coach Courtney at UNCG and later work alongside him at Iowa, I have no doubt he will bring tremendous value to our program. His ability to connect with student-athletes, both on and off the court, will be instrumental in their growth and development.
 
"Courtney is a natural teacher, and his background as a professional player equips him to be an exceptional skill developer. He is also a tireless recruiter and a strong relationship-builder. We're excited about the positive impact he will make within our program and community."
 
Eldridge served as an assistant coach for the Hawkeyes beginning in 2022. Prior to that, he was Iowa's director of recruiting and player development from 2020–22 and video coordinator from 2017–19. Since 2019, the UI men's basketball program has won 19 or more games each season, finished in the upper half of the Big Ten standings in seven of eight seasons with Eldridge on staff, and has been a mainstay in the national rankings and NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes also won the 2022 Big Ten Tournament championship.
 
During his tenure at Iowa, Eldridge helped recruit and coach a first-team All-Big Ten honoree in five of the past eight seasons. Notable players he coached include two-time National Player of the Year and first-team All-American Luka Garza; Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy finalist Keegan Murray; and third-team All-American and Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year finalist Kris Murray.
 
Eldridge played basketball at UNC Greensboro (UNCG) from 1998-2002, followed by a 12-year professional career in Brazil, Poland, Italy, Belarus, Turkey and the Dominican Republic. In addition to working men's basketball youth camps, he was a high school boys basketball coach at East Boston High School and Saint Joseph Prep School in Brighton, Massachusetts.
 
Eldridge helped the Spartans post three winning seasons during his career, including a 20-win campaign in 2001-02. He was part of the Spartans' 2001 NCAA Tournament team that won the Southern Conference Tournament title and finished with a 19-12 record. As a senior, he led the team to the SoCon North Division co-championship and an appearance in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) with a 20-11 record.
 
Eldridge was a two-time SoCon first-team selection (2001, 2002), as well as a two-time SoCon All-Tournament recipient (2001, 2002). He is the Spartans' all-time leader in assists (584) and is second in program history in steals (226). Eldridge holds the UNCG single season records for assists (182 in 2002), and also owns the second (179) and eighth (142) highest marks in school history. He is the school record holder for steals in a season (82 in 2001) and also owns the third highest total (78 in 2002). Eldridge is 10th all-time in UNCG scoring history with 1,329 career points and third all-time with 395 career free throws made. Eldridge is one of five UNCG greats to have their jersey retired; his No. 23 jersey was retired on April 24, 2002.
 
Eldridge earned his college degree in business administration from UNCG in 2015. He and his wife, Aisha, have four children — Khalil, Dante, Jordan and Aliyah.