| Richard Phelps | |
|---|---|
| Phelps on ESPN's College Gameday broadcast.
|
|
| Sport(s) | Basketball |
| Current position | |
| Title | Head Coach (retired) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | July 4, 1941 |
| Place of birth | Beacon, New York, USA |
| Playing career | |
| 1960–1963 | Rider College |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1966–1969 1970-1971 1971–1991 |
Pennsylvania (asst.) Fordham Notre Dame |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 419–200 |
Richard "Digger" Phelps (born July 4, 1941) is a former American college basketball coach, most notably of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team from 1971 to 1991. Since 1993, he has served as an analyst on ESPN.
Contents |
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. His first head coaching job came in 1970 at Fordham University. After leading the Fordham Rams to a 26-3 record in the 1970-71 season, he was named head coach at the University of Notre Dame.
During his 20 seasons at Notre Dame (1971–91), his teams went 393-197, with 14 seasons of 20 wins or more. In 1978, Notre Dame made its only Final Four to date. His most-remembered game was on January 19, 1974, when the Fighting Irish scored the last 12 points of the game to defeat top-ranked UCLA 71-70, ending the Bruins' record 88-game winning streak. He shares the NCAA record for most upsets over a #1 team at seven (Gary Williams also has 7).
| 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 (UVA) | 57-56 |
| February 1, 1987 | North Carolina (UNC) | 60-58 |
After retiring from Notre Dame he briefly worked for the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the administration of George H.W. Bush and also served as an observer in the 1993 elections in Cambodia. Also in 1993, he began a broadcasting career. Starting in that year, he announced color commentary for that year's NCAA tournament for CBS. He joined ESPN the next season.
Phelps also is a great fan of opera. The well-rounded former coach made a cameo appearance in the Notre Dame student opera performance of Offenbach's "Orpheus in the Underworld". Phelps played the part of Bacchus, the God of Wine, in two performances in April 2006.
Phelps also released his memoirs in 2007, entitled "Undertaker's Son: Life Lessons from a Coach." Phelps co-wrote the book with Jack Colwell, and the book details Phelps' upbringing, professional success, life principles and even lists his "Top 20" songs of all-time.
Phelps resides in South Bend and has three adult children. His eldest, Karen, is married to baseball pitcher Jamie Moyer.
Phelps is a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at Rider College.[1]
He is called "Bigger Digger" by Bob Knight.
While some analysts on ESPN panels pair their neckties with a matching pocket handkerchief, Phelps accessorizes his flamboyant attire by ridiculously matching his neckties with a like colored highlighter.
Phelps was instrumental in the restoration of various programs at John McDonogh High School in New Orleans post-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.
Phelps was inspirational for New Jersey indie rockers Digger Phelps who named their band for the famous coach in 1997.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fordham Rams (Independent) (1970–1971) | |||||||||
| 1970–1971 | Fordham | 26–3 | NCAA Sweet 16/NCAA East 3rd Place | ||||||
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Independent) (1971–1991) | |||||||||
| 1971–1972 | Notre Dame | 6–20 | |||||||
| 1972–1973 | Notre Dame | 18–12 | NIT Runner Up | ||||||
| 1973–1974 | Notre Dame | 26–3 | NCAA Sweet 16/NCAA Midwest 3rd Place | ||||||
| 1974–1975 | Notre Dame | 19–10 | NCAA Sweet 16 | ||||||
| 1975–1976 | Notre Dame | 23–6 | NCAA Sweet 16 | ||||||
| 1976–1977 | Notre Dame | 22–7 | NCAA 1st Round | ||||||
| 1977–1978 | Notre Dame | 23–8 | NCAA Final Four | ||||||
| 1978–1979 | Notre Dame | 24–6 | NCAA Elite 8 | ||||||
| 1979–1980 | Notre Dame | 22–6 | NCAA 2nd Round | ||||||
| 1980–1981 | Notre Dame | 23–6 | NCAA Sweet 16 | ||||||
| 1981–1982 | Notre Dame | 10–17 | |||||||
| 1982–1983 | Notre Dame | 19–10 | NIT 1st Round | ||||||
| 1983–1984 | Notre Dame | 21–12 | NIT Runner Up | ||||||
| 1984–1985 | Notre Dame | 21–9 | NCAA 2nd Round | ||||||
| 1985–1986 | Notre Dame | 23–6 | NCAA 1st Round | ||||||
| 1986–1987 | Notre Dame | 24–8 | NCAA Sweet 16 | ||||||
| 1987–1988 | Notre Dame | 20–9 | NCAA 1st Round | ||||||
| 1988–1989 | Notre Dame | 21–7 | NCAA 2nd Round | ||||||
| 1989–1990 | Notre Dame | 16–13 | NCAA 1st Round | ||||||
| 1990–1991 | Notre Dame | 12–20 | |||||||
| Notre Dame: | 393–195 | ||||||||
| Total: | 419–198 | ||||||||
|
National champion Conference regular season champion Conference tournament champion |
|||||||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|||||