George Mason men's basketball head coach Kim English named T.J. Grams director of basketball operations in April 2021.
Grams comes to Mason after more than a decade at the University of Virginia, where he worked as director of academic affairs for the men’s basketball program.
“T.J. Grams is the absolute best at what he does,” head coach Kim English said. “I got to know T.J. about 18 months ago on a Zoom seminar about student-athlete well being. He was on the academics side of the program, but had an interest in the operations side and had been learning that side of things from the DOBO at UVa. T.J. and I connected and stayed in close contact over the year. I have a close friend on staff at UVa and hearing those guys brag about how valuable T.J. was to their program made me know that I wanted him to be a part of what we are building here at Mason.”
In that role, he monitored class progress, registration and eligibility requirements of a diverse group of student-athletes. He communicated directly with the men’s basketball coaching staff concerning student needs and progress and participated in the recruiting process by meeting with families and prospects and helping through application and admission.
“The structure and the operation of UVa Basketball under Tony Bennett is the class of college basketball,” English added. “T.J. knows the inner workings of that program and that culture and it absolutely something we will aspire to mimic certain aspects of here at Mason. T.J. is invaluable to our program.”
Grams joined the staff as assistant director of academic affairs in 2010 and was promoted to director of academics in 2016.
Grams came to Virginia after working for the Duke athletics department for five years. From 2007-10, he was an assistant director for the Blue Devils’ student-athlete academic support services. Grams oversaw the academic progress for baseball, men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s golf and men’s and women’s tennis. He worked as an academic coordinator at Duke from 2005-07.
Grams joined the Duke staff after working at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business as an academic advisor. He was a graduate assistant academic coordinator at NC State while earning a master’s degree from the school, finishing in 2003.
Later this year, he will complete his doctorate of higher education from the University of Virginia. The program presents a broad and systematic understanding of higher education, a definitive knowledge of selected aspects of educational theory and practice, and an ability to apply research in an informed and critical manner to educational practice and problems.
“I am thrilled to be joining the George Mason program and Coach English as he begins his head coaching career,” Grams said. “As my relationship with Kim grew, I quickly became a believer in his vision. I am eager to use my experiences in college basketball and student affairs to serve the players and staff at Mason, in hopes of putting each individual in a position to succeed.”
A native of Sheboygan, Wis., Grams is a 2001 graduate of the University of Wisconsin. He is married to the former Kristen Schmidt and has a daughter, Caroline (13), and son, Oliver (2).
