Men’s B-ball Coach Goes to Penn State
Pat Chambers makes fast break
Men’s head basketball coach Patrick Chambers, who has led the Terriers to two 21-14 seasons since his arrival at BU two years ago, has told BU that he has accepted a position as head coach at Penn State. In the wake of Chambers’ move, which comes just four weeks after he signed a contract extension through the 2015–16 season, BU has appointed Brian Daly, formerly associate head coach, to the position of interim head coach. The University will launch a nationwide search for a replacement.
“We appreciate all of Patrick’s time at Boston University,” says Mike Lynch, assistant vice president and director of athletics. “He did a magnificent job for us, and we wish him the best at Penn State and elsewhere.”
Chambers will fill a slot left by Penn State’s Ed DeChellis, who racked up a 19-15 season in 2010–2011 and resigned last week to take the head coach spot at the U.S. Naval Academy.
In his two years at Boston University, Chambers quickly became famous for his passion, his seemingly infinite energy, and his ability to inspire his players. During the 2009–2010 season, he propelled the Terriers to the America East finals for the first time since 2003, stamping their season with a 21-14 record. It was BU’s first 20-win season since 2004.
Italso marked the first time since the 1986–87 season that BU defeated two major conference members in the same season, making Chambers just the fifth first-year head coach in America East history to lead his team to a championship game.
Playing the 2010–11 season with just three returning players, seven freshmen, and three transfers, the team earned its first perfect home conference record since 1998. In postseason play, the Terriers hosted the first America East title game at Agganis Arena and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament.
The move to Penn State will take Chambers back to his home state. In 1990, he was a walk-on freshman at Philadelphia University, leaving the team four years later as a starting point guard and the school’s record-holder for assists. He then worked for 10 years in sales, first for a pharmaceutical company and later for his family’s print and copy business. But his heart was always on the basketball court.
Eventually he turned several extracurricular coaching stints into a steady paycheck and spent five years as associate head coach at Villanova. There, he saw the Wildcats make the NCAA tournament four times, including a spot in the Final Four.
Art Jahnke can be reached at jahnke@bu.edu.
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