Ed Cooley is movin’ on up – he is now the head coach of the Providence Friars.
“We are very excited to have Ed Cooley coming to Providence College to coach our men’s basketball team,” Providence College President Reverend Brian Shanley said.
Cooley is the 15th head coach in Providence College history. The Friars were 15-17 on the season, 4-14 in Big East play – including losing eight of their last 10 games.
“We conducted a thorough search,” Cooley said. “During that process Ed Cooley was the coach that consistently met our selection criteria.”
Cooley spent the last five seasons as the head coach at Fairfield University and posted a 92-69 mark, including a 58-32 record in MAAC action. He was the first black basketball coach at Fairfield and became the first Fairfield head coach to guide the team to a .500 or better mark in MAAC action in each of his first five seasons. In 2009-10, he led the Stags to a 23-11 mark and the team’s first post-season berth since 2003.
“Ed Cooley did a great job rebuilding Fairfield into a consistently strong program,” Athletic Director Bob Driscoll said. “Each season his team showed improvement.”
Cooley guided Fairfield to a school-record 25 wins and a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season title in 2010-11. He was named the 2011 MAAC Coach of the Year. He also earned United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) District I Coach of the Year honors. His 2011 squad finished the season with a 25-8 mark (15-3 MAAC) and advanced to the second round of the NIT.
“I have had the opportunity to spend some time with Ed and I believe he is the right person to lead our men’s basketball team.
Cooley was the first recipient of the Ben Jobe Award, presented annually to the top minority men’s basketball coach in the nation.
Cooley will be formally introduced at a news conference on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.
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