Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Beacon, New York, U.S. | July 4, 1941
Playing career | |
1960–1963 | Rider |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1963–1964 | Rider (GA) |
1965–1966 | St. Gabriel's HS |
1966–1969 | Penn (assistant) |
1970–1971 | Fordham |
1971–1991 | Notre Dame |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 419–200 (.677) (college) |
Tournaments | 17–17 (NCAA Division I) 7–3 (NIT) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
NCAA Regional – Final Four (1978) | |
Awards | |
Sporting News Coach of the Year Award (1974) UPI Coach of the Year (1974) | |
Richard Frederick "Digger" Phelps (born July 4, 1941) is an American former college basketball coach, most notably of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 1971 to 1991. For 20 years, from 1993 to 2014, he served as an analyst on ESPN. He got the nickname "Digger" from his friends.
Phelps was born in Beacon, New York. His family ran a funeral home business in the city. [1] He worked at his father's business on weekends and during summer. He got the nickname "digger" from his friends. [2]
Phelps began his coaching career in 1963 as a graduate assistant at Rider College (now Rider University), where he had played basketball. After a move to St. Gabriel's High School in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, he obtained his first full assistant job in 1966 at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. [1]
His first head coaching job came in 1970 at Fordham University in The Bronx, where he coached Charlie Yelverton and P. J. Carlesimo, the athletic director's son. Phelps led the Rams to a 24–2 record in the 1970–71 regular season and a #9 national ranking. [3]
Fordham received an at-large bid to the 25-team NCAA tournament, where they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, and won the consolation game for third place in the East regional. [4]
In May 1971 at age 29, Phelps was named head coach at the University of Notre Dame. [5]
During his 20 seasons (1971–91) tenure, Phelps' Notre Dame teams went 393–197 (.666), with 14 seasons of 20 wins or more. In 1978, Notre Dame made its only Final Four appearance to date. His most-remembered game occurred in 1974, when the second-ranked Fighting Irish scored the last 12 points of the game on January 19 to upset top-ranked UCLA, coached by John Wooden, 71–70, ending the Bruins' record 88-game winning streak. [6] [7] He shares the NCAA record for most upsets over a #1 team at seven with Gary Williams:
Date | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|
January 19, 1974 | UCLA | 71–70 |
March 5, 1977 | San Francisco | 93–82 |
February 26, 1978 | Marquette | 65–59 |
February 27, 1980 | DePaul | 76–74 (2ot) |
December 27, 1980 | Kentucky | 67–61 |
February 22, 1981 | Virginia | 57–56 |
February 1, 1987 | North Carolina | 60–58 |
Phelps began his broadcasting career when he served as a commentator for ABC Sports' basketball coverage at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In 1992, he continued his broadcasting career when he provided color commentary for that year's NCAA tournament for CBS. He joined ESPN the next season and worked for them until 2014 as a college basketball studio and game analyst. [8]
During the April 7, 2014 broadcast of College GameDay , Phelps announced that he was leaving ESPN. "I spent 20 years at Notre Dame as a coach and now 20 years here at ESPN doing a great job with all you people. And now it's time for me to move forward, and this will be my last time on TV," Phelps said. Phelps added: "It's been a great run. Twenty years is always my target for everything, and it's time to move forward."
Phelps resides in South Bend with his wife Terry, and has three adult children. His eldest, Karen, was married to baseball pitcher Jamie Moyer. [9] He is a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at Rider College. [10]
Phelps was instrumental in the restoration of various programs at John McDonogh High School in New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina. His gifts helped to restore the sports program and helped to launch a four-year Culinary Academy in partnership with the Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation and the Recovery School District on December 15, 2010. [11]
In April 2013, Phelps was diagnosed with bladder cancer. [12] [13] On July 1, 2013, his doctor declared him in remission. [14]
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level of NCAA football competition. The conference currently comprises two members, Oregon State and Washington State.
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George Melvin "Jud" Heathcote was an American basketball player and coach. He was a college basketball head coach for 24 seasons: five at the University of Montana (1971–1976) and nineteen at Michigan State University (1976–1995). Heathcote coached Magic Johnson during his two years at Michigan State, concluding with the 1979 national championship season. He also coached the University of Montana to a national handball championship in 1974.
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The UCLA Bruins men's basketball program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in the sport of men's basketball as a member of the Big Ten Conference. Established in 1919, the program has won a record 11 NCAA titles. Coach John Wooden led the Bruins to 10 national titles in 12 seasons, from 1964 to 1975, including seven straight from 1967 to 1973. UCLA went undefeated a record four times. Coach Jim Harrick led the team to another NCAA title in 1995. Former coach Ben Howland led UCLA to three consecutive Final Four appearances from 2006 to 2008. As a member of the AAWU, Pacific-8 and then Pacific-10, UCLA set an NCAA Division I record with 13 consecutive regular season conference titles between 1967 and 1979 which stood until tied by Kansas in 2017. In 2024, UCLA departed the Pac-12 Conference and joined the Big Ten Conference on August 2, 2024.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish Men's Basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. The program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of NCAA Division I. On September 12, 2012, Notre Dame announced they would be moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference; they joined the conference on July 1, 2013.
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Thomas Lewis Curtis was an American college basketball player for the UCLA Bruins. He played on two undefeated national championship teams at UCLA. He did not lose a game in college until his final season, helping the school to a record 88-game consecutive win streak.
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The 1979–80 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was coached by Digger Phelps and was ranked in the Associated Press poll for the entirety of the season.
The 1980–81 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was coached by Digger Phelps and was ranked in the Associated Press poll for the entirety of the season. As a 2 seed, the Fighting Irish defeated the 10 seed James Madison in the second round, 54–45. Notre Dame would fall to BYU in the 1981 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament.
The 1978–79 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1978–79 NCAA men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Digger Phelps and played their home games at the Joyce Center.
The 1973–74 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1973, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1974 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 25, 1974, at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. The North Carolina State Wolfpack won its first NCAA national championship with a 76–64 victory over the Marquette Warriors.
The 1970–71 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1970, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1971 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 27, 1971, at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The UCLA Bruins won their seventh NCAA national championship with a 68–62 victory over the Villanova Wildcats.
The 1986–87 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1986-87 college basketball season. The Irish were led by head coach Digger Phelps, in his 16th season, and played their home games at the Joyce Center in Notre Dame, Indiana. Notre Dame earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they reached the Sweet Sixteen. The team finished with a 24–8 record and a No. 18 rankings in both major polls.
The 1987–88 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1987-88 college basketball season. The Irish were led by head coach Digger Phelps, in his 17th season, and played their home games at the Joyce Center in Notre Dame, Indiana. Notre Dame earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they fell in the opening round to SMU. The team finished with a 20–9 record.
The 1985–86 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1985-86 college basketball season. The Irish were led by head coach Digger Phelps, in his 15th season, and played their home games at the Athletic & Convocation Center in Notre Dame, Indiana. The Irish completed a perfect season at home (15–0). Notre Dame earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they were upset by Arkansas–Little Rock in the opening round. The team finished with a 23–6 record and a No. 10 ranking in the final AP poll.
The 1984–85 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1984-85 college basketball season. The Irish were led by head coach Digger Phelps, in his 14th season, and played their home games at the Athletic & Convocation Center in Notre Dame, Indiana. Notre Dame earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 7 seed in the Southeast region. After an opening round win over Oregon State, the Irish were beaten by No. 2 seed North Carolina in the round of 32. The team finished with a 21–9 record.