When the Final Four tips off in Detroit on Saturday, America East will be well represented. Two of the four head coaches in the national semifinals got their first head coaching positions in the conference. Jim Calhoun of Connecticut and Jay Wright of Villanova once prowled the America East sidelines.
Calhoun won five conference titles, more than any other coach in America East history, while at Northeastern. He was named ECAC North Atlantic Coach of the Year in 1985-86, after guiding the Huskies to a 26-5 record and their third consecutive conference title. Calhoun departed for Connecticut following that season and has won two National Championships (1999, 2004) while at UConn. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005.
Wright coached at Hofstra from 1994-2001 while the school was a member of America East. He won back-to-back America East titles in 2000 and 2001 before departing for Villanova. He was the America East Coach of the Year both seasons, guiding Hofstra to a 50-12 record and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. He also led Hofstra to an NIT appearance in 1999.
A third coach with roots to America East was eliminated in the regional final. Louisville head coach Rick Pitino coached at Boston University from 1978-83, winning the ECAC NAC title in 1983 and advancing to the NCAA Tournament. He has guided three different programs (Providence, Kentucky and Louisville) to the Final Four and won a National Championship with Kentucky in 1996. He also coached two of the more storied fanchises in the NBA, the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics.
America East was originally formed as the ECAC North in 1978-79 and became the ECAC North Atlantic a year later. The conference evolved into the North Atlantic Conference in 1988-89 and finally underwent a name change to America East in 1994-95.