Gerard Friel (July 8, 1943 – August 20, 2007) was a college basketball coach, known for his 20-year tenure at

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

where he is the school's all-time winningest coach. After graduating from Oswego State in 1965, Friel began his coaching career in upstate New York at Fulton High School for a season, until he joined

Bob Cousy Robert Joseph Cousy (, born August 9, 1928) is an American former professional basketball player. Cousy played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969–70 season. A 13-time N ...

's staff as an assistant coach at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

. During his time with the Eagles, the team advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1967 and 1968, along with the NIT championship game in 1969. Friel was named the head coach of

in 1969, and coached for 20 years until his retirement in 1989. During the 1973-74 and 1982-83 season, Friel guided the Wildcats to a 16 wins, which was the most wins in school history until the 2013-14 season. For his coaching efforts during the 1982-83 season, UNH shared the

ECAC North The America East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I founded in 1979, whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference has nine core members including eight public research u ...

regular season title, and Friel was named ECAC North Coach of the Year, along with the U.S. Basketball Writers Association All-District Coach of the Year. After his retirement from coaching, Friel embarked on an administrative career in the UNH athletic department as both Director of University Athletic Relations, and Director of Athletic Fundraising, along with serving as Vice President of the UNH Foundation. Friel died on August 20, 2007 after a long battle with illness.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friel, Gerry 1943 births 2007 deaths American men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from New York (state) Boston College Eagles men's basketball coaches High school basketball coaches in the United States New Hampshire Wildcats men's basketball coaches People from Durham, New Hampshire Sportspeople from Strafford County, New Hampshire Sportspeople from Utica, New York State University of New York at Oswego alumni