Philip Ponder begins his ninth season as head coach and 15th season overall at Oglethorpe. When he was named head coach in March of 2003, he became one of the youngest head coach's in the school's basketball history and the youngest coach in the conference. His first eight seasons have seen the Stormy Petrels progress to becoming one of the top teams in the conference.  In those eight years, the Petrels are one of only three teams (out of 12) in the conference that have made the SCAC tournament every year.  The Petrels are also currently one of just three teams in the conference to have five consecutive winning seasons and one of just two teams in the conference to record four consecutive seasons of at least 15 wins.

Having taken over a team that had finished last or next to last for four consecutive seasons, he immediately turned the Petrels fortunes around, leading the team all the way to the conference championship game in his first year at the helm. In his second season, the Petrels won their most games in six years and achieved their highest regular season conference finish in seven years. In his fourth year, the Petrels finished with their most wins and best record in eight years, and in his 5th season, the squad finished with their most wins in 10 years and their best conference finish in 13 years. The team followed that up with a second consecutive 16-win season in 2008-09.  After only seven years at the helm, Ponder already ranks third in career victories for a head men's basketball coach at Oglethorpe, and passed the 100 win plateau this past season.

He has introduced an exciting up-tempo style of basketball that has helped the Stormy Petrels lead the conference in scoring, three-pointers made and attempted, free throws made and attempted, turnover margin, assist to turnover ratio, steals, and turnovers forced, while breaking numerous school and conference records. The style of play is a style that players love to play. In the seven year period that Ponder has been head coach, Oglethorpe has scored more points, made more three pointers, forced more turnovers, and recorded more steals than any team in the conference. This new, unique, and exciting style, as well as the renewed winning (62-26 at home in his tenure) has helped attendance almost triple since he took over.

Ponder has made it a point to try to make an impact on his players off the court as well. From his very first season, the team has been involved in giving back to the community. In the fall of 2003, the Stormy Petrels worked with the Chastain Horse Park riding program, which serves kids with cognitive, physical, and emotional disabilities. For the past eight summers and the past seven falls, the men's basketball program has partnered with the Brookhaven Boy's and Girl's Club, giving free scholarships for the annual summer camp and volunteering hundreds of hours with the after school program. For their efforts, the men's basketball team was awarded in October of 2006 the "Volunteer of the Year" award for the entire Metro Atlanta area, which covers over twenty-five counties.

Professionally, Ponder is one of the co-founders of the Georgia Basketball Coaches Association (GABCA) and currently serves as President of the organization. He is also a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). He also currently serves on the NCAA’s Regional Advisory Committee.  He has twice been named the Div. III State Coach of the Year.

Ponder served as an assistant coach for eight years under five different head coaches at three different programs. Prior to coming to Oglethorpe, he was the assistant coach at Heritage High School in Conyers, GA. He was hired by former head coach and athletic director Jack Berkshire in the summer of 1997 as a graduate assistant. Upon Berkshire's retirement, he was promoted to top assistant under new head coach Jim Owen, and held that position for five years. He played for and graduated from Reinhardt Junior College and LaGrange College. He received his master's degree from Oglethorpe.