Schaefer was named the Bulldogs’ head coach on March 13, 2012, replacing
Sharon Fanning-Otis who retired at the end of the 2012 season. In his tenure at MSU Schaefer has led the Bulldogs to five NCAA tournaments, Four Sweet Sixteen appearances, 3 Elite 8 appearances, 2 Final Fours, and 2 National Runner-up finishes. He also guided MSU to 2 SEC Championship and 1 SEC Tournament Championship, the only conference titles for MSU in any women's team sport. The 2016–17 team made college basketball history by defeating No. 1 Connecticut 66–64 in overtime in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. That victory snapped the Huskies’ record 111-game win streak and sent the Bulldogs to the national championship game in their first Final Four appearance. The UConn win garnered MSU the 2017 ESPY for Best Upset and
Morgan William a Best Play nomination for her winning bucket. With a 74–68 win at Marquette on November 25, 2019, Schaefer earned his 200th victory as the head coach at Mississippi State. It was just his 256th game at State, making him the second-fastest coach ever to achieve the milestone with an SEC program ahead of hall-of-fame coaches
Joe Ciampi (258 games),
Pat Summitt (259),
Van Chancellor (263),
Jim Foster (280) and
Sue Gunter (280). Only Georgia's
Andy Landers (251) reached the mark at a faster pace. == Texas ==