Head coach Tom Pecora announced the signing of three new players on Thursday. (Sam Joseph/The Fordham Ram)
By Max Prinz
Men’s basketball coach Tom Pecora was relieved of his duties last Wednesday morning after five seasons as head coach of the Rams. Under his leadership, the team was a dismal 44-106.
In a statement, the school said the decision was based on the fact that “the University’s men’s basketball program has regrettably not achieved the desired results or made the sustained progress hoped for under Mr. Pecora’s leadership, as measured by the won/loss record over five years, which was 44–106 (29.3 percent), and the recruited student athlete retention rate over the past four years, which was 50 percent.”
“The University extends its appreciation and gratitude to coach Pecora for all that he has done over the course of his tenure to position our men’s basketball program for greater success in the future,” the statement added. “We wish him and his family well in all future endeavors.”
Pecora arrived at Rose Hill five years ago after spending 16 years at Hofstra, serving as head coach for the last nine. He had four 20-win seasons and compiled a 155-126 record as the leader of the Pride.
He was hired by former athletic director Frank McLaughlin who also gave him a contract extension following the 2011-12 season. According to the statement, current athletic director David Roach met with Pecora last week to inform him of the University’s decision. Roach did not respond to inquires for this article.
The success Pecora enjoyed at Hofstra failed to follow him to the Bronx. This year’s team lost its first nine Atlantic 10 Conference games.
Last December, Roach was asked about Pecora’s job security by the New York Post.
“I’ll evaluate everything at the end of the year and see where we’re at,” Roach says.
“After the last couple of years, we’re looking for significant progress in the program,” Roach also said. “That means we’ve got to feel like we’ve improved quite a bit and the program is moving forward.”
It appears Pecora did not do enough.
There was some speculation that the team’s late winning streak this season would allow Pecora to return. After struggling at the start of Atlantic 10 Conference play, the Rams won five of their last 11 games, including an A-10 Tournament win over George Mason.
Pecora also enjoyed success as a recruiter. In successive years he signed two highly-touted prospects, Jon Severe and Eric Paschall. Severe was the 2013 New York State Player of the year at Christ the King High School and Paschall was Westchester County’s Mr. Basketball his junior season at Dobbs Ferry High School. Christian Sengfelder, another freshman this past season, was named A-10 Rookie of the Week five times.
Still, Pecora failed to put a winning product on the court. In five seasons, he never won more than 10 games and never finished higher than 12th in the A-10.
Fordham will launch a national search to find its next men’s basketball coach. The university has said the search will be led by Parker Executive Search.
“We believe that Parker Executive Search will greatly enhance our efforts in finding a head men’s basketball coach,” Roach said in another statement released last Thursday. “They have a proven track record of helping institutions identify quality candidates, both athletically and academically, and we look forward to working with them as we move forward in the search.”
The atlanta based firm declined a comment for this story.
A 2013 story by ESPN’s Dana O’Neil reported that Parker typically charges between $60,000 and $90,000 for its services.
With Pecora gone, there is also fear that some of those players he recruited will transfer. Paschall announced Monday that he had been granted his release from Fordham and was free to look at other schools, but that returning as a Ram for 2015-16 was still an option. Severe, who took an extended leave of absence from the team earlier this season, could transfer as well.
