Former Appalachian State head basketball coach and first-year employee as the UT basketball program’s coordinator of video scouting was suddenly named interim head basketball coach on March 21, 2011, when Bruce Pearl and three assistant coaches were fired. Fancher began his coaching career in 1988 as an assistant at Maryville College. He then went to North Greenville College as head coach (1993–95) and then took a post as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt for 1995–96. He then went to Appalachian State, where he rose from assistant coach to associate head coach (2000) to head coach. He was named SoCon Coach of the Year in 2003.
In addition to their success on the court, Fancher’s squads also were presented with NCAA Public Recognition Awards in 2005–6 and 2006-7. The NCAA Public Recognition Awards honor programs that rank among the nation’s top 10 percent in their sport in academic progress rate scores.