Gallagher Signs Contract Extension Through 2017-18

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – After piloting the Hawks to their first-ever Division I postseason appearance, the University of Hartford has signed head men's basketball coach John Gallagher to a contract extension that will keep him as the head men's basketball coach through the 2017-18 season, President Walter Harrison and Director of Athletics Pat Meiser announced on Wednesday afternoon.

"It is a privilege to have Coach Gallagher on our sidelines for many seasons to come," Harrison declared. "Watching the team's growth over the past three seasons has been thrilling. I look forward to helping Coach Gallagher achieve all of the goals he has set for the program."

Gallagher took a team that went 0-13 to start the 2011-12 season and turned things around for the 2012-13 campaign, making an eight-win improvement from the previous year's mark while leading the team to an invitation to play in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. The Hawks hosted Rider in their first-ever postseason game last March, but came up short of defeating the Broncs.

"We are extremely confident in the direction of our men's basketball program and we're excited to see what Coach Gallagher and his staff can build in the future," exclaimed Meiser. "The success we had this season along with what we have returning next year is very encouraging. I am pleased with the level of competitiveness and am confident that that will only continue to rise."

Coaching one of the youngest squads in the nation, Gallagher led Hartford to a 17-14 overall record including a 10-6 mark in the America East in 2012-13, tying the program record for most regular season wins while posting the most victories in league play in four years. The only other time the Hawks won 17 games in the regular season was in 1989-90, when Vin Baker was a freshman.

Hartford was just as successful in its non-conference slate, wrapping up its 13-game schedule with a 7-6 mark, the program's best record outside of league games since 1996-97. Furthermore, it was just the fourth time in the program's Division I era that it posted a winning record in non-conference play.

"I'd like to thank Walter Harrison for his faith in me," Gallagher commented. "I would also like to thank Pat Meiser for the support she has provided to me and the program throughout the last three years. My family and I are grateful that we have an administration that is behind our growing program and has the same vision and the same mission as the staff here. I'm really exciting about the years to come."

The Hawks return 10 players who accounted for 92 percent of the scoring and 93 percent of the rebounding for the 2013-14 season. Among the starting five, Hartford returns all but one from the second half of the season, including forwards Mark Nwakamma and Nate Sikma and guards Corban Wroe and Yolonzo Moore II.

Nwakamma was named to the America East All-Conference First Team, the first Hawk to earn the distinction since Joe Zeglinski received the accolade following the conclusion of the 2007-08 regular season. Nwakamma put up monster numbers in his sophomore year, leading Hartford in scoring with 14.7 points per game while finishing the regular season as the conference's fifth-best overall scorer. He also ranked in the league's top-15 in rebounds (5.5 rpg), field goal percentage (47.5 percent), steals (1.4 spg) and blocks (0.7 bpg).

Gallagher's squad closed out the season ranked at the top of the America East in steals (8.2 spg) and turnover margin (+1.77). In addition, Gallagher, who has a reputation of being an offensive mastermind, drastically helped improve Hartford's defense in 2012-13. The Hawks conceded 61.2 points per game through 31 outings, which stands as a school record, beating out the 27-year old previous record of 63.2 ppg established in the 1985-86 season. 

Tabbed the America East Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com, Gallagher was also recognized as a finalist for the 2013 Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award, which was established in 2008 to honor those who not only achieve success on the basketball court, but who display moral integrity off of it.

Gallagher spent two seasons as the Hawks' associate head coach from 2006-08, helping lead the team to their first-ever appearance in the title game of the America East Championships in 2008. Prior to being named the program's 10th head coach in the spring of 2010, he served two seasons on Glen Miller's staff at the University of Pennsylvania.