Chris Finberg is the new head coach of the boys basketball team at his alma mater, Columbia Falls High School.
Finberg, a former standout athlete in Columbia Falls and the nephew of former boys head coach Cary Finberg, was offered the position and accepted this week. Activities Director Troy Bowman confirmed the hire, which is pending approval by the school board.
Finberg is replacing John Anderson, who resigned in March after one season. Anderson stepped down claiming a “toxic environment” surrounded the program and that a school official made a disdainful comment about his wife. Bowman and Columbia Falls High School Principal Scott Gaiser said at the time they were both unaware of the allegations or any concerns Anderson might have had about negativity surrounding the program.
Under Anderson, the Wildcats finished 4-17 overall last season and failed to qualify for the state tournament for the first time since 2008.
Finberg brings a strong pedigree to a program with a rich tradition as one of the best in Montana in recent decades. Cary Finberg helmed the program for 19 seasons and guided the Wildcats to five Class A championships and seven consecutive top-three finishes at the state tournament from 2009-2015. He stepped down with a career record of 298-138 as the boys head coach.
Chris Finberg previously served as an assistant coach under his uncle, Cary, who remains the head coach of the girls team at Columbia Falls. Chris Finberg graduated from Columbia Falls High School and attended Miles Community College in Miles City, where he played basketball before finishing up an education degree in health and human performance at the University of Montana-Western in Dillon.