2009-10 New hampshire Basketball
HEAD COACH BILL HERRION
the school to its first-ever NIT appearance in 1991. The team finished first or second in conference play in seven of his eight seasons. Herrion also posted five consecutive 20-win seasons, including his best, a 27-4 campaign in 1996. That same year, Herrion led Drexel to its first-ever NCAA tournament victory with a first-round upset over Memphis. In 1998, America East celebrated its 20th year of men’s basketball by naming the 20 individuals (players, coaches, administrators) who had been the most influential in the growth of the conference over the first two decades. Four coaches were named to that team: Jim Calhoun, Rick Pitino, Mike Jarvis and Bill Herrion. Herrion is still the only coach in America East/NAC/ECAC North history to earn four Coach of the Year awards (1994, 1995, 1996 and 1999). He also has a conference-record 19 tournament wins (19-8) and is second only to Calhoun with three conference championships. The .704 America East tournament winning percentage is first among active America East coaches, first among anyone with at least 10 tournament appearances and fifth overall all-time. Herrion holds an overall conference record in America East of 141-60 for a winning percentage of .701. “I’m obviously very excited about the opportunity to be the head coach at UNH,” Herrion said when he was hired. “It’s a great opportunity to get back into America East, a league that I’m very familiar with and have a lot of respect for. We are looking forward to moving this basketball program in the right direction and to compete for the championship in America East.” Following his success at Drexel, Herrion was hired as the head coach at East Carolina University where he lead the Pirates from 1999-2005, posting a record of 70-98. The Pirates were sometimes overmatched after the school stepped up to high-powered Conference USA, but Herrion’s teams were tenacious and beat a top 10 team with a win over No. 9 Marquette. ECU also enjoyed its first-ever victory over national powerhouse Louisville during his tenure. Herrion also had America East ties as an assistant coach at Boston University from 1985-1990. During his stay in Boston, the Terriers posted a 101-51 record, made NCAA appearances in 1988 and 1990 and was invited to the NIT in 1986. Herrion served as an assistant coach at George Washington University from 1990-91. Other coaching experience on his resume includes serving as an assistant coach of the Under-19 U.S. National Team that competed in Athens, Greece in 1995. He was also the assistant coach for the Under-22 U.S. National Team that went on to win gold in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1996. Herrion is a 1981 graduate of Merrimack College, where he earned his bachelor of arts degree in History.
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