Fordham University and men’s basketball coach Dereck Whittenburg have agreed on a contract extension through the 2012-13 season, Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Frank McLaughlin announced on Thursday, Nov. 8. Financial terms of the contract, which was agreed to last summer and finalized this week, were not released.
“Dereck Whittenburg has done a great job getting Fordham basketball back on track and we are excited that he is committed to leading the Fordham program for years to come,” McLaughlin said. “Dereck has made tremendous progress with the men’s basketball program and has brought a remarkable amount of excitement to Rose Hill. We look for him to continue with that progress in the future.”
For the past four years, Fordham has shown remarkable improvement under Whittenburg’s guidance, going from six wins in Whittenburg’s first year at the helm in 2003-04 to 18 last year, the most wins for a Fordham men’s basketball team since 1991-92. The Rams also finished 10-6 in the Atlantic 10 conference, Fordham’s best finish since joining the league in 1995-96.
“I’m excited to have the opportunity to continue to build the Fordham program and to build a program that everyone can be proud of,” Whittenburg said. “We have a good foundation in place that will allow us to have continued success in the years to come.”
Whittenburg, 46, arrived at Rose Hill after turning the Wagner College program around in four years, leading the Seahawks to a 21-10 record in 2002-03 and the Northeast Conference Championship, earning the school’s first ever bid to the NCAA Tournament.
]]>Basketball Hall-of-Famer and television analyst Bill Walton will speak at the Fordham University men’s basketball Tip-Off Dinner on Nov. 6 at Tavern on the Green in Manhattan, the Department of Athletics announced on July 19.
The department also announced that the Rams will face the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Duquesne University and Temple University twice during the 2007-2008 season, according to a revamped conference schedule. This will mark the third consecutive year that Fordham will have a home-and-home series with Duquesne while Charlotte and Temple replace the University of Rhode Island and St. Bonaventure University, which the Rams played twice during the 2006-2007 season.
Walton was part of two NCAA championship teams at UCLA in the 1970s and was selected three times as the NCAA Player of the Year. He also led the Portland Trailblazers to an NBA championship in 1977. Walton was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993, and became a member of the Academic All America Hall of Fame in 1994. He is currently an NBA analyst for ABC and ESPN, and won an Emmy in 2001 for best live sports television broadcast.
The annual dinner is open to Fordham alumni, family and friends. For more information, contact Ryan St. Germain, alumni relations officer for athletics, at (212) 636-6527, or via e-mail at [email protected].
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