Harry F. Perretta Jr. (born July 22, 1955) is a retired American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach who served as the head coach of the women's basketball team at

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

from 1978 to 2020. When he was hired at the age of 22, he became the youngest coach to ever head a women's varsity program at Villanova.

Coaching career

At the time that Perretta interviewed for the position of head coach, he was one of 65 applicants. He had been out of college only two months at the time, which initially prompted Villanova to drop him from serious consideration. However, Dutch Burch, the head coach at

Lycoming College Lycoming College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1812, Lycoming College is affiliated with the United Methodist Church but operates as an in ...

, sent in a letter of recommendation to Villanova—Perretta had suffered a career-ending injury to his ankle while a freshman at Lycoming, and Burch persuaded Perretta to become a student assistant coach. Perretta also coached the junior varsity team for two years. Burch's letter helped persuade Villanova to give Perretta a chance. At the time, the women's head coaching position was part-time, and Perretta frequently came to practices wearing the work boots he wore in his morning job laying cement. The school made it to the Final Four of the 1982 AIAW tournament, the last year that tournament was held. Teams he has coached have earned invitations to many postseason tournaments. The 2002–03 team advanced as far as the Elite Eight. Perretta announced on October 30, 2019 that he would retire at the end of the 2019–20 season. At the time, he had been dealing with health issues for several years. His 42nd and final season at Villanova tied him with Yvonne Kaufmann, who coached at

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their stu ...

Elizabethtown from 1971 to 2012, for the most seasons as head coach at a single school in NCAA women's basketball history (including seasons in which women's sports were governed by the

AIAW The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships (see AIAW Champions). It evolved out of the Commission on Interc ...

Broadcasting career

Following his retirement, Perretta began broadcasting with FOX Sports and the BIG EAST Digital Network. He debuted on FS1 in a regular season game between Villanova and St. John's on Jan. 2, 2022 and continue to work as an analyst through the 2021-22 season. Perretta was also part of the coverage team at the 2022 BIG EAST Tournament, calling games and working as a studio analyst.

Personal life

Perretta has been married since 1996; his wife Helen played for him in the 1980s, but they did not date until 1995. At the time, he was helping take care of his ailing mother. He proposed to Helen about a month after his mother's death. In a 2020 ESPN story, Helen said, "His mother was the most important thing to him. After she passed, he could move on." They have two sons, both of whom were attending Villanova in their father's final season on the bench. Every June, Perretta and his wife visit the

Poor Clares The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare ( la, Ordo sanctae Clarae) – originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and later the Clarisses, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Order, and the Second Order of Saint Francis ...

convent in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

to deliver supplies to the cloistered nuns living there. As part of an arrangement he made with the order, they visit with arguably the greatest player he coached— Shelly Pennefather, now known as Sister Rose Marie, who lives at the convent. They are separated by a glass screen during the visits, in keeping with the order's rules. For the 25th anniversary of Pennefather's final vows in 2019, marked by Sister Rose Marie renewing her vows, Perretta was one of several close friends and family members who were able to hug her for the first time since her final vows.

Awards and honors

* 1995—Philadelphia Big 5 Coach of the Year * 1996—Big East Coach of the Year * 1996—Philadelphia Big 5 Coach of the Year * 2001—Philadelphia Big 5 Coach of the Year * 2003—Philadelphia Big 5 Coach of the Year * 2004—Philadelphia Big 5 Coach of the Year * 2007—Lycoming Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007 * 2011— Philadelphia Sports Writers Association Special Achievement Award *Special Achievement –

Charlie Manuel Charles Fuqua Manuel Jr. (born January 4, 1944), is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. During his playing career, he appeared over parts of six Major League Baseball seasons for the Minnesota Twins and Los Angel ...

(Phillies manager)

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perretta, Harry 1955 births Living people American women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Lycoming Warriors men's basketball players People from Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Delaware County, Pennsylvania Villanova Wildcats women's basketball coaches