Providence gives MBB head coach Ed Cooley lifetime deal
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (BVM) 鈥� On Nov. 7, the 2022-23 college basketball season will tip off. With every new season comes a refurbished hope of doing one thing: capturing a national championship.
One of those coaches ready to continue that pursuit is Providence head basketball coach Ed Cooley.
Past accomplishments
Since being hired away from Fairfield, Cooley has recorded an overall record of 221-141 with Friars. During that decade run, Cooley has recorded 300 total career wins and 100 wins in the Big East Conference. Cooley also helped the Friars win 14 conference games last season, a season-best, and beat conference foe Creighton to clinch the conference regular season title. It was also Providence’s first-ever Big East regular season title.聽
Along with regular-season success, Cooley and the Friars have had a great deal of postseason success. While Cooley has been the head basketball coach, the Friars have made it to 60% of NCAA Tournaments. This past season was the program鈥檚 first Sweet 16 appearance since 1997.
With his accomplishments in the 2021 season, Cooley was awarded Big East Coach of the Year and Naismith Coach of the Year. Winning both awards made him the first coach from Providence to win either honor.
Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year
— Providence MBB (@PCFriarsmbb)
Lifetime contract
With Cooley鈥檚 individual and team success as of late, he was awarded a multi-year extension.
BREAKING: Providence head coach, Ed Cooley, has agreed to a multi-year contract extension. This agreement is being labeled as a 鈥渓ife-long deal鈥� to be the Friars head coach.
— Kim English Apologist (@FriarsCapital)
鈥淗e鈥檚 not leaving,鈥� basketball expert John Fanta Rhody Vault. 鈥淓d Cooley is not going anywhere.鈥�
馃毃 Providence and @CoachCooleyPC have reached a deal on a contract extension. There is no better match between a school and a coach鈥�
— Rhody Vault (@RhodyVault)
The specifics of the deal have not been released, but one could imagine if Cooley is willing to stick around the program for the foreseeable future, the contract is very generous.
鈥淣ot many coaches are able to live the dream of coaching in their hometown, and I feel blessed every day that I have this opportunity,鈥� Cooley told. 鈥淚 have had the good fortune of working for great administrators and coaching some of the best players in the country.鈥�
What does this mean for Providence?
For Providence and its fans, they can breathe a sigh of relief. And with Cooley sticking around, this means the Friars will remain competitive in arguably the nation’s most prestigious college basketball conference. More importantly, Providence gets a great person to look out for student-athletes.聽
鈥淲hen you look at Ed Cooley, you look as a coach and as an ambassador on a national scale,鈥� Providence athletic director Steve Napolillo told The Providence Journal. 鈥淗e really is the perfect person for Providence College.鈥澛�
