Men’s basketball coach Tom Pecora was relieved of his duties Wednesday morning after five seasons as head coach of the Rams. Fordham was a dismal 44-106 under Pecora.
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.”
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.
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.
Max Prinz is a Staff Writer for the Fordham Ram.
