With a victory over UNC Asheville on February 3, 2015, Ellis became the only coach in NCAA Division I history to tally 150-plus wins at four institutions.

The basketball playing surface in the Dallas Floyd Phoenix Arena at Cumberland was named in his honor on August 17, 2018.

[6] When Ellis became head coach, the administrators at South Alabama were thinking of dropping to NCAA Division II.

[6] Ellis, who was also the athletic director during part of his tenure, led the Jaguars to three Sun Belt titles, two NCAA Tournament appearances, and two NITs.

In 10 years at Clemson, Ellis led the Tigers to postseason play eight times, including three NCAA Tournaments.

Coastal Carolina (28–6) made its second-straight trip to the NIT after earning an automatic bid by winning the Big South regular-season title with a 16–2 mark inside the conference.

The Chanticleers opened league play with 15-straight victories and went on to set an all-time Big South record for conference wins in a season.

In addition, the Chants were the first team in conference history to win five Big South road games by at least 20 points.

Ellis' 2012–13 campaign featured a season-opening win over perennial mid-major power Akron when the Chants opened their new home, The HTC Center.

Coastal also picked up a 69–46 home win over Clemson in late December, giving Ellis back-to-back victories over the Tigers.

In the league tournament, the Chants rallied for wins over UNC Asheville and Gardner-Webb before running away from Winthrop in the title game to secure a second-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament—a program first.

The 2015–16 season featured a 21–12 overall record (12–6 Big South) as Ellis guided the Chanticleers to a semifinal appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.

The 2016–17 season featured a 20–19 overall record (10–8 Sun Belt) as Ellis guided the Chanticleers to a championship series appearance in the College Basketball Invitational Postseason Tournament.

After advancing to the College Basketball Invitational Postseason Tournament, the Chanticleers picked up wins against Hampton, Loyola (MD), and Illinois-Chicago before moving on to the championship series against Wyoming.

The 2018–19 season featured a 17–16 overall record (9–9 Sun Belt) as Ellis guided the Chanticleers to a semifinal appearance in the College Basketball Invitational Postseason Tournament.

Along the way, the Chanticleers earned the program's seventh and eighth postseason victories with wins over Howard and West Virginia, respectively.

[2] On April 18, 2019, Cliff Ellis teamed up with former Florida Gator football coach Steve Spurrier and former Florida State Seminoles defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews, who filled in for Legendary former Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden, for a press conference at the Capitol in Tallahassee to show congress that rival coaches can come together and urge lawmakers to send aid and money to the 11 counties that were battered by Hurricane Michael in October 2018.