Tom Penders
Tom Penders (born May 23, 1945)
Teams coached: Tufts Jumbos, Columbia Lions, Fordham Rams, Rhode Island Rams, Texas Longhorns, George Washington Colonials, Houston Cougars
Columbia record: 43-60 (.417)
Fordham record: 125-114 (.523)
Rhode Island record: 48-17 (.738)
Texas record: 208-110 (.654)
George Washington record: 49-42 (.538)
Houston record: 121-77 (.611)
Overall record^: 648-438 (.597)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 11 (1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2010)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 3 (1988, 1990, 1997)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 8 (1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 2005, 2006)
- CBI Appearances: 2 (2008, 2009)
- Atlantic 10 Regular Season Champion: 1 (1999)
- Southwest Regular Season Champion: 3 (1992, 1994, 1995)
- Conference USA Tournament Champion: 1 (2010)
- Southwest Tournament Champion: 2 (1994, 1995)
- MAAC Tournament Champion: 2 (1982, 1983)
Awards:
- Southwest Coach of the Year: 2 (1994, 1995)
- Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year: 1 (1987)
- National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted 2021)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2004-2010 | Houston |
| 1998-2001 | George Washington |
| 1988-1998 | Texas |
| 1986-1988 | Rhode Island |
| 1978-1986 | Fordham |
| 1974-1978 | Columbia |
| 1971-1974 | Tufts |
Tom Penders Facts
- Thomas Vincent Penders
- Born May 23, 1945
- Hometown: Stratford, Connecticut
- Alma Mater: University of Connecticut (BA, 1967)
- Lettered in both basketball and baseball at Stratford (CT) HS and went on to do the same at UConn
- Rare distinction of having played in both the NCAA Tournament (1965, 1967) and College World Series (1965)
- Drafted in the 9th round of the 1968 MLB Draft by the Cleveland Indians; spent time playing at the AA level
- Returned to CT in 1968 to coach the Bullard Havens HS basketball team for one year (16-7)
- Spent the next two seasons coaching Bridgeport HS, where he went 43-3 overall
- Became the head coach at Division III Tufts in 1971, leading the Jumbos to a 54-18 record over three seasons
- Spent the next fourteen seasons at the Division I level on the East Coast, coaching at Columbia, Fordham and Rhode Island, before being hired as the Texas Longhorns’ head coach in 1988
- Led the Longhorns to 208 wins, eight NCAA Tournaments and three SWC titles in ten seasons; twice named Southwest COY
- After being fired from UT, Penders took over the George Washington program for three years; took the Colonials to the NCAA Tournament in 1999
- Final coaching position was a six-year tenure with Houston, where he won 121 games and made five postseason appearances, including the 2010 NCAA Tournament
- In 2021, Penders was inducted into both the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
- Along with his wife, Susie, has one son and two daughters
- Penders’ family is full of coaches: father coached baseball at Stratford HS, brother Jim is a HS baseball coach and two nephews coach college baseball
Tom Penders Coaching Tree
- Jack Armstrong (Niagara)
- Rod Baker (Delaware 87ers, Harlem Globetrotters, ABA, CBA, UC Irvine, Tufts)
- Chris Beard (Ole Miss, Texas, Texas Tech, Little Rock, Angelo State, McMurry)
- Matt Brady (James Madison, Marist)
- Jim Christian (Canisius, Boston College, Ohio, TCU, Kent State)
- Tom Garrick (UMass Lowell (w))
- Buddy Mahar (Johnson State, Columbia)
- Tom Parrotta (Canisius)
- Bob Quinn (Fordham)
- Al Skinner (Kennesaw State, Boston College, Rhode Island)
- Vic Trilli (North Texas)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at both the NCAA Division I and Division III levels