Fran McCaffery Takes Job In Iowa
Fran McCaffery Takes Job In Iowa – The Iowa Hawkeyes basketball program has been near the bottom of the Big Ten for the past three years, and it will now be the job of Fran McCaffery to turn things around. Todd Lickliter took over after Steve Alford departed Iowa three seasons ago, and went just 38-58 in his tenure before getting the ax a few weeks ago. Iowa administration dismissed Lickliter on the grounds of shrinking attendance and revenue, in addition to the poor performance on court. The hiring of McCaffery is their attempt to breathe some life into the program.
McCaffery, 50, has been the head coach of Siena for the past five seasons. His record is 112-51 and he has guided them to three straight NCAA tournament appearances. He did get a look at the Big Ten this season, as his Saints lost to Purdue in the first round. It will be interesting to see how McCaffery handles the transition to a big school atmosphere, as Lickliter was unable to get it done. McCaffery has a lot more head coaching experience than Lickliter, but he’s never coached at a big school. He’s led UNC-Greensboro, Lehigh and Siena for a total of 14 seasons. His career record is 251-178 and he’s won four conference tournament championships.
Iowa does have a strong core of youth, but the holdovers were recruited by Lickliter. McCaffery will have the task of making them feel welcome under the new administration and building upon that foundation. In a conference with very strong coaching and lots of returning talent, that will be no small task in the short term.
Tags: Basketball Program, Career Record, Five Seasons, Fran Mccaffery, Head Coach, Iowa Hawkeyes Basketball, Lehigh, Ncaa Tournament Appearances, New Administration, Poor Performance, Purdue, Saints, School Atmosphere, Siena, Steve Alford, Straight Ncaa, Tenure, Three Seasons, Todd Lickliter, Unc Greensboro
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