Former Penn assistant coach and 1982 Wharton graduate Fran McCaffery was named the new Penn men’s basketball coach. (Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons | CC0 1.0)
Credit: Courtesy of Wikimedia Creative CommonsThis story is developing and will continue to be updated.
Fran McCaffery is nearing a deal be named the next head coach of Penn men’s basketball, per a report.
A deal between Penn and McCaffrey is "imminent," according to a post by journalist Sam Federman on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
McCaffery, a 1982 Wharton graduate who served as head coach at Iowa for 15 seasons with previous stops at Lehigh, North Carolina Greensboro, and Siena, will replace Steve Donahue at the helm of the program and serve as the 21st head coach in team history. His 12 career NCAA tournament appearances are the most of any Ivy League basketball coach — at the time of their hiring — in history.
Earlier this month, McCaffery was dismissed as the Hawkeyes’ head coach after the team’s second-straight season without a tournament berth. He leaves Iowa City as the winningest coach in the program’s history with 297 total victories.
McCaffery began his playing career at Wake Forest in 1977 before transferring to Penn, where he played from 1979 to 1982. After spending the 1982-83 season as an assistant for the Quakers, McCaffery became an assistant at Lehigh, where he later served as head coach from 1985 to 1988 and took the Mountain Hawks to the NCAA Tournament in his final season.
McCaffery then spent 11 years as an assistant at Notre Dame from 1988 to 1999 before head coaching stints at UNC Greensboro from 1999 to 2005 and Siena from 2005 to 2010. In his final three seasons with Siena, McCaffery led the Saints to three MAAC titles, three NCAA Tournament berths, and two tournament wins.
McCaffery was hired at Iowa in 2010 and coached there for 15 seasons before being dismissed earlier this week. During his tenure, the Hawkeyes earned seven trips to the tournament but never advanced past the Round of 32. McCaffery also coached five All-Americans during his time in Iowa City, including 2020 National Player of the Year Luka Garza and 2022 first-team All-American Keegan Murray, who was selected fourth overall in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Penn was assisted by Parker Executive Search in the hiring of its new head coach.
McCaffery will be tasked with revitalizing a Penn program that has declined in recent years. After winning 23 Ivy League titles from 1970 to 2006, the Quakers’ last three coaches won a combined two conference crowns, while the team has finished with a losing conference record eight times in the same timeframe.
In 2024, the Quakers finished 8-19 overall, including a 4-10 clip in Ancient Eight play. On Monday, sophomore guard Sam Brown, Penn’s only All-Ivy selection and the Ivy League leader in points per game during conference play, announced he would enter the transfer portal. Freshman guard AJ Levine also entered the portal on Monday before announcing he would return to Penn following the news of McCaffery's impending hire.
Junior guard Ethan Roberts, the Quakers’ leading scorer and another potential portal prospect, indicated excitement at McCaffery's arrival.
"I'm just really excited for this hire," Roberts said. In light of McCaffery's hiring, signs point to Penn retaining Roberts as of now. "I think there's a few opportunity costs you work with here at Penn, and just having that elite ball knowledge is huge. It's inspiring. It ignites a fire in you a little bit. That's why I'm so excited to get back in the gym now and learn from somebody who does produce pros. ... I'm just excited to be a Quaker and I'm looking forward to the future."
McCaffery brings a level of high major experience unmatched by any other Ivy League coach. Now, Penn hopes he has what it takes to restore the program to its former glory.
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