Fran McCaffery

Francis John McCaffery (born May 23, 1959) is an American college basketball coach and the current men's basketball head coach at the University of Iowa.

McCaffery became an assistant coach at Lehigh in 1983.

He was the youngest head coach in Division I when he was promoted to head coach in 1985.

Following his career at Lehigh, McCaffery spent 11 years as an assistant at Notre Dame.

McCaffery began his tenure at Lehigh University as an assistant coach for two seasons before being promoted at age 26 on September 14, 1985 to succeed Tom Schneider who had resigned to return to Penn in a similar capacity six days prior on September 8.

He led Lehigh to a 49–39 record in his three-year term with the Engineers (Lehigh changed their mascot to the Mountain Hawks after McCaffery left ).

In the 1987–1988 season, McCaffery led Lehigh to its second NCAA Tournament Appearance in program history.

He left Lehigh to join Digger Phelps' staff at the University of Notre Dame on August 1, 1988.

McCaffery posted a 90–87 record in six seasons.

In his first year at the helm, Greensboro compiled a 15–13 record overall and a 9-7 Southern Conference mark, good for third place in the North Division.

In 1999, he became the head coach of the UNC Greensboro Spartans.

McCaffery had a 90–87 record through six seasons.

He led the Spartans to the Southern Conference Championship and the NCAA Tournament in 2001.

In his five seasons at Siena, McCaffery guided the Saints to four 20-win seasons, including three consecutive MAAC Regular-Season and Conference tournament Championships.

These resulted in three consecutive berths to the NCAA Tournament, in which they defeated both Vanderbilt and Ohio State in the first rounds.

McCaffery's tenure at Siena is considered the greatest in program history as he revived a program that had a record of 6–24 prior to his arrival.

He also maintained a 100% graduation rate for players completing their NCAA eligibility.

In McCaffery's second season, he guided the Spartans to unprecedented heights with a 19–12 record and the 2001 SoCon Tournament Championship.

The Spartans defeated Chattanooga, 67–66, in the finals and received the SoCon's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The following year (2001-2002) McCaffery led the Spartans to their first 20-win season since joining the conference.

It marked the first time the program claimed a share of the SoCon North Division title as well.

After falling to eventual tournament champion Davidson in the conference tournament semifinals, the Spartans were awarded a berth into the 2002 NIT, where they lost to eventual champion Memphis.

In his final year in Greensboro, McCaffery brought the Spartans to the brink of the NCAA Tournament before a SoCon Championship game loss to Chattanooga.

He led UNCG to a victory over Davidson in the semifinals, defeating a team that had been 16–0 in conference play.

A big part of that success was SoCon Freshman of the Year Kyle Hines.

Hines set UNCG and SoCon records for blocked shots, and also broke several other UNCG single-game and freshman single-season marks.

In 2005, the Siena Saints were picked to finish last in preseason polls for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

However, McCaffery orchestrated the fifth greatest turnaround in all of Division 1 and guided Siena to a 15–13 record.

The team earned several memorable victories in the regular season, including an 82–74 win against cross-town rival Albany, and an 82–76 triumph at eventual MAAC champion Iona.

The Saints clinched a first-round bye in the MAAC tournament with a 98–92 double-overtime victory over Niagara on the team's senior day.

Siena's season ended with a 63–62 loss to St. Peter's in the MAAC quarterfinals.

McCaffery guided Siena to a 20–12 record in 2007.

The Saints began the season with an 11–10 record.

McCaffery was introduced as the head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes on March 29, 2010.

He has taken four Division I programs to postseason tournaments, including the Iowa Hawkeyes, who reached the final of the 2013 National Invitation Tournament, but has never made a Sweet 16 during his tenure as a Division 1 head coach.

He previously served as head coach of Lehigh University, UNC Greensboro, and Siena.

McCaffery played college basketball for one season at Wake Forest before transferring to Penn.

In his playing days, he acquired the nickname of "White Magic" he was also referred to the “Conductor” on the court.

He began his college coaching career with a stint at Penn as an assistant coach.

It was the 18th-most improved record nationally among NCAA Division I teams.