John Gallagher (basketball)

John Gallagher

Current position
Title	Head coach
Team	Manhattan
Conference	MAAC
Record	13–29 (.310)
Biographical details
Born	(1977-05-27) May 27, 1977 (age 47)
Playing career
1996–1999	Saint Joseph's
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1999–2003	La Salle (assistant)
2003–2006	Lafayette (assistant)
2006–2008	Hartford (asst. HC)
2008–2010	Penn (assistant)
2010	Boston College (assistant)
2010–2022	Hartford
2023–present	Manhattan
Head coaching record
Overall	182–236 (.435)
Tournaments	0–1 (NCAA) 0–2 (CIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
America East tournament (2021)
Awards
America East Co-Coach of the Year (2018)

John Michael Gallagher (born May 27, 1977) is the head men's basketball coach at Manhattan College.^[1] He previously served as the head coach at the University of Hartford from 2010 until 2022.^[2][3][4]

Career

Assistant coach

Gallagher started his coaching career working as an assistant at Lafayette College and La Salle University.^[5] From 2006 to 2008 Gallagher worked as associate head coach under Dan Leibovitz, helping the Hawks to their first appearance in the America East Championship game in 2008. Hartford lost the game to UMBC 64–50. Gallagher left Hartford in 2008, and spent two years as an assistant coach under Glen Miller with the Penn Quakers. He then briefly worked as an assistant under Steve Donahue at Boston College,^[6] a position he held for less than two weeks before being offered the head coaching job at Hartford.^[7]

Hartford

2010–11 season

In his first season at the helm, Gallagher guided the Hawks to an 11–20 record, going 7–9 in league play. In the America East Tournament, Hartford upset third-seeded Maine to make an appearance in the semifinals.^[8]

2011–12 season

In 2011–12, Gallagher and the Hawks struggled in the early season with a roster featuring seven freshman, going 0-13 before finishing the year 9–9 on its way to a 9–22 record. The Hawks made the America East Tournament semifinals once again after defeating Boston University, before falling in double-overtime to Vermont for a place in the conference final.

2012–13 season

The 2012–13 season saw Gallagher guide the Hawks go 17–12 in the regular season, earning a fourth-place finish in the America East. After falling to UMBC in the America East Championship quarterfinals, Hartford accepted a bid to the 2013 CIT, losing to Rider in the first round. This was the program's first postseason appearance since its move to Division I.^[9]

2017–18 season

On January 31, 2018 Gallagher earned his 100th victory as coach of Hartford with a 79–62 win over New Hampshire.^[10] and on February 28, 2018 Gallagher was named America East Co-Coach of the year.^[11] Hartford returned to the CIT Tournament falling to San Diego in the first round. After the 2017–2018 season Gallagher signed a contract extension.^[12]

2020–21 season

During the 2020–21 season, Gallagher led the Hawks to the America East tournament championship, defeating UMass Lowell 64–50 earning an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.^[13] Hartford would fall to eventual national champion Baylor in the first round.

Sudden resignation prior to 2022–23

On November 7, 2022, just one day before Hartford was scheduled to start the 2022–23 season (its final year as a Division I member), Gallagher resigned unexpectedly.^[14] In his letter, Gallagher said the school had consistently undermined the program “to the point where player safety and well-being has been jeopardized.” He cited a preseason scrimmage at Dartmouth in late October, when one of his players was injured and wasn’t immediately helped because the school did not send an athletic trainer with the team. The university initially disputed the claims of player safety.^[14]

Manhattan

On March 29, 2023 Gallagher was named the head coach at Manhattan.^[15]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Hartford Hawks (America East Conference) (2011–2022)
2010–11	Hartford	11–20	7–9	6th
2011–12	Hartford	9–22	7–9	6th
2012–13	Hartford	17–14	10–6	4th	CIT First Round
2013–14	Hartford	17–16	10–6	3rd
2014–15	Hartford	14–16	7–9	5th
2015–16	Hartford	10–23	4–12	T–7th
2016–17	Hartford	9–23	4–12	7th
2017–18	Hartford	19–14	11–5	3rd	CIT First Round
2018–19	Hartford	18–15	10–6	4th
2019–20	Hartford	18–15	9–7	3rd	NCAA Division I Cancelled
2020–21	Hartford	15–9	8–6	4th	NCAA Division I Round of 64
2021–22	Hartford	12–20	9–9	T–5th
Hartford:		169–207 (.449)	96–96 (.500)
Manhattan Jaspers (MAAC) (2023–present)
2023–24	Manhattan	7–23	4–16	10th
2024–25	Manhattan	6–6	1–2
Manhattan:		13–29 (.310)	5–18 (.217)
Total:		182–236 (.435)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Personal life

Gallagher graduated from Saint Joseph's University in 1999, where he played basketball under head coach Phil Martelli.

References

1. "Manhattan College Appoints John Gallagher to Lead Men's Basketball Program". 29 March 2023.
2. "Gallagher to Return to the University of Hartford as Program's 10th Men's Basketball Coach". Hartford Athletics. 16 April 2010.
3. "Unexpected Turn As Gallagher Lands Back At Hartford". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
4. "New Coach At UHart Provides Energy Boost". Hartford Courant. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
5. "Hartford Hawks Athletics - 2010-11 Men's Basketball Coaching Staff".
6. "Gallagher heads to BC". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
7. "Hartford Introduces Gallagher As New Coach". Hartford Courant. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
8. "Hartford 66, Maine 63". Associated Press. Retrieved June 18, 2018.^{[dead link‍]}
9. "Rider Earns 63-54 Win at Hartford in CIT First Round". maacsports.com. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
10. "Hartford tops New Hampshire 79-62 for Gallagher's 100th win". USA Today. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
11. "Gallagher Earns co-Coach of the Year to Highlight Five AE All-Conference Picks" (Press release). Hartford Athletics. 1 March 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
12. "Gallagher Inks New Contract as Head Men's Basketball Coach". Hartford Athletics. 11 April 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
13. "Hartford men beat UMass Lowell 64-50 for America East title; earn first NCAA Tournament berth". Hartford Courant. 13 March 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
14. "Hartford men's basketball coach John Gallagher resigns". Associated Press. West Hartford, Connecticut. November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
15. "Former UHart men's basketball coach John Gallagher finalizing contract to take over at Manhattan College". 28 March 2023.

External links

• Manhattan Jaspers bio