Fran McCaffery

Fran McCaffery
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamIowa
ConferenceBig Ten
Record280–191 (.594)
Annual salary$3.2 million
Biographical details
Born (1959-05-23) May 23, 1959 (age 65)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Playing career
1977–1978Wake Forest
1979–1982Penn
Position(s)Point guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1982–1983Penn (assistant)
1983–1985Lehigh (assistant)
1985–1988Lehigh
1988–1999Notre Dame (assistant)
1999–2005UNC Greensboro
2005–2010Siena
2010–presentIowa
Head coaching record
Overall531–368 (.591)
Tournaments6–12 (NCAA Division I)
7–5 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
ECC tournament (1988)
SoCon tournament (2001)
SoCon regular season (2002)
3 MAAC tournament (20082010)
3 MAAC regular season (2008–2010)
Big Ten tournament (2022)
Awards
MAAC Coach of the Year (2009)

Francis John McCaffery[1] (born May 23, 1959) is an American college basketball coach and the current men's basketball head coach at the University of Iowa. He has taken four Division I programs to postseason tournaments, including the Iowa Hawkeyes, who reached the final of the 2013 National Invitation Tournament and have reached the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in seven of his 14 seasons.

He previously served as head coach of Lehigh University, UNC Greensboro, and Siena. McCaffery played college basketball for one season at Wake Forest before transferring to Penn. In his playing days, he acquired the nickname of "White Magic" he was also referred to the “Conductor” on the court.[2]

He began his college coaching career with a stint at Penn as an assistant coach. McCaffery became an assistant coach at Lehigh in 1983. He was the youngest head coach in Division I when he was promoted to head coach in 1985. Following his career at Lehigh, McCaffery spent 11 years as an assistant at Notre Dame. In 1999, he became the head coach of the UNC Greensboro Spartans. McCaffery had a 90–87 record through six seasons. He led the Spartans to the Southern Conference Championship and the NCAA Tournament in 2001.

In his five seasons at Siena, McCaffery guided the Saints to four 20-win seasons, including three consecutive MAAC Regular-Season and Conference tournament Championships. These resulted in three consecutive berths to the NCAA Tournament, in which they defeated both Vanderbilt and Ohio State in the first rounds. McCaffery's tenure at Siena is considered the greatest in program history as he revived a program that had a record of 6–24 prior to his arrival.[3] He also maintained a 100% graduation rate for players completing their NCAA eligibility. McCaffery was introduced as the head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes on March 29, 2010.[4]

  1. ^ Fran McCaffery's Iowa coaching contract
  2. ^ SI's 2009 Top 20 Scouting Reports, Sports Illustrated, November 23, 2009.
  3. ^ "Fran McCaffery Bio – Siena College Official Athletic Site". www.sienasaints.com. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
  4. ^ "Siena's McCaffery hired as Iowa basketball coach". DesMoinesRegister.com. March 28, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010. [dead link]