Bill Raftery
Bill Raftery (born April 19, 1943)
Teams coached: Fairleigh Dickinson-Madison Devils, Seton Hall Pirates
FDU-Madison record^: 63-47 (.573)
Seton Hall record: 154-141 (.522)
Overall record^: 217-188 (.536)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 2 (1974, 1977)
- New Jersey-New York 7 Regular Season Champion: 1 (1977)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 1970-1981 | Seton Hall |
| 1963-1968 | Fairleigh Dickinson-Madison |
Bill Raftery Facts
- William Joseph Raftery
- Born April 19, 1943
- Hometown: Kearny, New Jersey
- Alma Mater: La Salle University (BA, 1963) / Seton Hall University (M.Ed, 1966)
- Was First-Team Parade All-American as a senior at Saint Cecilia HS (NJ); left as the state’s all-time leading scorer
- Went on to play at La Salle for Donald “Dudey” Moore; was team captain in 1963 when the Explorers reached the NIT
- Started his coaching career at Division II FDU-Madison (now Florham) in New Jersey
- Went 63-47 in five seasons as head coach; also coached golf and was associate AD at the school
- Spent eleven seasons as the head coach at Seton Hall, going 154-141 overall during that tenure
- Reached the NIT twice, including in 1977 when the Pirates were NJNY7 champions
- After his coaching career, Raftery has embarked on a decades-long broadcasting career and is one of the nation’s most recognizable voices during college basketball season
- Has worked for CBS Sports, ESPN, and Fox Sports and has been a staple of March Madness broadcasts for years
- In addition to college basketball, Raftery has also done PGA Tour broadcasts and worked for the New Jersey Nets
- Inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame (class of 2015)
- Along with his wife, Joan, has four children
Bill Raftery Coaching Tree
- Tom Brennan (Vermont, Yale, FDU-Florham)
- Hoddy Mahon (Seton Hall)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at both the NCAA Division I and Division II levels
