Fran McCaffery Wh’82 has been a head basketball coach at Lehigh, North Carolina Greensboro, Siena, and the last 15 seasons at Big Ten Conference member Iowa. He has led his teams to 12 NCAA appearances, more than any other Ivy League basketball coach at the time of hiring.
At Iowa, McCaffery led the team to seven NCAA appearances. He coached Iowa to 297 wins, more than any other Iowa men’s basketball coach.
As for overcoming Penn’s recent difficulties in winning games, one player who had entered the NCAA transfer portal and one player who was expected to enter the transfer portal immediately announced they intend to stay at Penn and look forward to playing for Fran McCaffery. In regard to his return to Penn, McCaffery stated, “I am excited and honored to return to my alma mater and the city of Philadelphia to lead the Penn men’s basketball program. It is a program that I have fond memories from my previous time there as a student-athlete and assistant coach. My vision is to return Penn to prominence in the Ivy League and beyond and bring an exciting style of play to the Palestra.”
