| Cosgrove |
Trinity (Conn.) has announced the hiring of James Cosgrove, who posted a 166-77 record at Division II Adelphi over the past eight seasons, as head men's basketball coach. Cosgrove, who also has head coaching experience at Endicott, is the 16th Trinity men's basketball coach in the 105-year history of the varsity program.
The Bantams posted a 10-14 record last winter and a 3-6 mark in the NESCAC. Trinity qualified for the NESCAC Tournament for the 10th consecutive season, losing at Middlebury in the quarterfinal, 56-52. Cosgrove replaces Sean Tabb, who coached for two years on an interim basis following the retirement of 27-year coach Stanley Ogrodnik.
Cosgrove's teams have posted a winning record and reached the postseason in each of his eight seasons at Adelphi, won 20 or more games six times, and earned four NCAA Tournament bids in a five-year span from 2002-03 to 2006-07. Cosgrove guided Adelphi into the NCAA Second Round in 2005-06. Last winter, in its first season in the highly competitive Northeast-10 Conference, Adelphi earned a 22-10 mark and played its way into the league tournament finals with three postseason victories. His teams have been regularly ranked among the best in the nation defensively, including the 2008-09 squad that led Division II in field goal percentage defense (37.6 FG%) and was fourth nationally in scoring defense (58.9 points per game). In the classroom, his players at Adelphi had a 100 percent graduation rate in seven seasons prior to 2009-10.
"We are thrilled to welcome James Cosgrove as the next men's basketball coach at Trinity College," said athletic director Rick Hazelton. "He has tremendous basketball knowledge, passion, work ethic, and a proven track record of high success everywhere he has been. Coach Cosgrove has also displayed a commitment to the overall development of his student-athletes throughout his fine career, and he will be a fine addition to the athletic department and to the campus community. We welcome him back to the Hartford area."
Adelphi won the East Coast Conference (ECC, formerly NYCAC) title in his first season at the school in 2002-03, and captured the league crown again in 2005-06 and in 2006-07. Adelphi reached the ECC finals in 2007-08, and finished atop the ECC regular season standings in 2004-05 and 2005-06. Cosgrove was named as the ECC Coach of the Year in 2004-05 and as the Metropolitan Writers Association Division II Coach of the Year in both 2004-05 and 2005-06.
At Endicott, Cosgrove accumulated a 68-39 record including an 18-10 record in 1999-00, the program's first Commonwealth Coast Conference championship, and its first bid to the Division III NCAA Tournament. His 1998-99 Endicott team won the Great Northeast Athletic Conference regular-season crown and earned Cosgrove GNAC Coach of the Year honors. He has a 234-116 record in 13 seasons as a head coach for a .669 winning percentage.
"I am excited to come back home, but I am much more excited to be a part of Trinity College's rich tradition of excellence in both academics and athletics," said Cosgrove, who grew up in West Hartford. "If Trinity were not in Connecticut, I would be just as happy to get this chance. The Trinity basketball team has consistently competed at a high level in an elite Division III conference, the NESCAC, and I am honored to be the next head coach of the Bantam program."
The Bantams have recorded a winning record in 15 of the past 17 seasons.