Jim Phelan
Jim Phelan (1929-2021)
Teams coached: Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers
Mount St. Mary’s record^: 830-524 (.613)
Overall record^: 830-542 (.613)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 2 (1995, 1999)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 1 (1996)
- NEC Regular Season Champion: 1 (1996)
- Mason-Dixon (Div II) Conference Champion: 3 (1961, 1962, 1969)
- NEC Tournament Champion: 2 (1995, 1999)
- NCAA Division II National Championships: 1 (1962)
- NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances: 14 (1957, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987)
- NCAA Division II Tournament Final Four: 5 (1957, 1961, 1962, 1981, 1985)
Awards:
- Clair Bee Coach of the Year: 1 (1998)
- NEC Coach of the Year: 1 (1993, 1996)
- NABC Div II Coach of the Year: 2 (1962, 1981)
- NABC Golden Anniversary Award (2006)
- National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted 2008)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 1954-2003 | Mount St. Mary’s |
| 1953-1954 | Mount St. Mary’s (asst) |
Jim Phelan Facts
- James Joseph Phelan
- Born March 19, 1929
- Died June 15, 2021
- Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Alma Mater: La Salle University (BA, 1951)
- Phelan played at La Salle College HS in his hometown of Philadelphia and went on to play for Ken Loeffler‘s La Salle Explorers
- Drafted in the 8th Round (77th overall) of the 1951 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia Warriors; played briefly for the Warriors and then in 1954 played in the Eastern League for the Pottstown Packers
- Started his Mount St. Mary’s career in 1953, first arriving as an assistant to Bill Clark before getting promoted to head coach a year later
- For the first 24 years at the helm, the Mountaineers were members of the NCAA College Division (now Division II)
- Phelan lead the team to the NCAA Division II Tournament fourteen times, including five Final Four appearances and the 1962 NCAA Div II National Championship crown
- The program transitioned to D-I in 1988 and by 1995, his team had won the NEC Tournament and earned its first-ever D-I NCAAT bid
- MSMU won the NEC regular season title a year later and then appeared in the NCAA Tournament again in 1999
- Phelan retired following the 2002-03 season after 49 years at the helm, with 830 wins between the D-I and D-II years
- Along the way became the 2nd man to coach in 1,200 NCAA games and later became the 4th ever to win 800 games
- For the first 24 years at the helm, the Mountaineers were members of the NCAA College Division (now Division II)
- The NEC named the NEC Jim Phelan Coach of the Year award in his honor and in 2009, CollegeInsider renamed its National COY award the Jim Phelan Award
- The court at Mount St. Mary’s is known as Jim Phelan Court and features an image of his signature bowtie on each end
- Phelan passed away in June 2021 at the age of 92; survived by his wife, Dottie, their five children and ten grandchildren
Jim Phelan Coaching Tree
- Milan Brown (Holy Cross, Mount St. Mary’s)
- Fred Carter (Philadelphia 76ers)
- Jamion Christian (George Washington, Siena, Mount St. Mary’s)
- Cliff Warren (Jacksonville)
^ overall and MSMU records include seasons at both the NCAA Division I and Division II (formerly College Division) levels
