Fordham Names New Coach
By Howard Goldin
BRONX, NEW YORK, MARCH 31- Less than two weeks after Tom Pecora was relieved of his duties as men’s basketball coach at Fordham University, it was announced a replacement was hired. Jeff Neubauer, the coach of the Eastern Kentucky Colonels for the past decade, was named the new men’s coach of the Rams.
Neubauer’s teams had record success at EKU. The Colonels won 101 games in the past five seasons and 188 in his 10 years at the helm of the Kentuckians. In five of the 10 years, the Colonels under the guidance of Neubauer qualified for a post-season tournament.
Immediately prior to his first head coaching position, Neubauer was an assistant to John Beilein at West Virginia for three years. In his final season at West Virginia, the Mountaineers reached the Elite Eight round at the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
Neubauer served as assistant coach to Beilein the previous five seasons at Richmond. The Spiders achieved great success during those years, winning 100 games and qualifying for the post-season tournaments in three of those years.
During his three years after college graduation, he was graduate assistant coach at The Citadel, where he earned an MBA degree.
Neuberger was the point guard of a very successful LaSalle basketball team from 1989-1993. The explorers compiled an 83-36 mark and three post-season tournament appearances, two in the NCAA and one in the NIT. The finance major was an Honorable Mention GTE Academic All-America in his senior year.
The native of Slidell, Louisiana is happy to be coming to the Bronx, “I am thrilled to get the opportunity not only to head coach at Fordham but to coach in New York City. Fordham has a great academic tradition and a beautiful campus.”
Realizing that the Fordham Rams have had only two seasons in the last 23 years in which the team compiled a record of .500 or better, he explained, “I really love challenges and am very aware of how competitive the Atlantic-10 Conference is and I’m looking forward to helping Fordham move forward in the conference.”
Although Fordham’s Rose Hill Gym in the oldest District I gym in the country and only seats 3,200, the new coach likes the facility, “I played here many years ago. I think it’s a neat place. I think it has character.”
Neuberger met the players on his team for the first time one day before his public introduction on Tuesday, “I was very impressed with them. I was not surprised because of the level of the school. I want them to get to know me through basketball.”
The personable young but experienced coach admitted to this reporter, “I’m not worried about the basketball. I’m not worried about the recruiting. I have no idea where I want to live.”
Fordham officials expressed great satisfaction with the new coach they signed. Fordham’s president, Joseph M. McShane, SJ, elatedly stated, “His ability to inspire superior performance on the court and in the classroom fits well with Fordham’s mission and our culture…Most importantly, we believe Jeff will be a positive force for our student athletes, in their careers and in their lives.”
Athletic Director David Roach commented, “He [Neubauer] has proven himself as one of the top up-and-coming coaches in the country and brings a tremendous amount of experience to our program.”
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