John Michael Gallagher (born May 27, 1977) is the head men's basketball coach at

Manhattan College Manhattan University (previously Manhattan College) is a private, Catholic university in New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the De La Salle Christian Brothers (Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools) as an academy fo ...

. He previously served as the head coach at the

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. It enrolled approximately 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students as ...

from 2010 until 2022.

Career

Assistant coach

Gallagher started his coaching career working as an assistant at

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 18 ...

and

La Salle University La Salle University () is a private university, private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Bapt ...

. From 2006 to 2008 Gallagher worked as associate head coach under Dan Leibovitz, helping the Hawks to their first appearance in the

America East The America East Conference (AmEast) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1979, t ...

Championship game in 2008. Hartford lost the game to UMBC 64–50. Gallagher left Hartford in 2008, and spent two years as an assistant coach under

Glen Miller A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. The word is Goidelic in origin: ''gleann'' in Irish and Scottish Gaelic, ''glion'' in Manx. ...

with the

Penn Quakers The Penn Quakers are the athletic teams of the University of Pennsylvania. The school sponsors 33 varsity sports. The school has won three NCAA national championships in men's fencing and one in women's fencing. Sponsored teams Men's varsit ...

. He then briefly worked as an assistant under

Steve Donahue Steve Donahue (born May 21, 1962) is an American college basketball coach who was most recently the head coach of the Penn Quakers men's basketball team. He also served as head coach at Boston College and Cornell. Background Donahue is a na ...

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

, a position he held for less than two weeks before being offered the head coaching job at Hartford.

Hartford

2010–11 season

In his first season at the helm, Gallagher guided the Hawks to an 11–20 record, going 7–9 in league play. In the

Tournament, Hartford upset third-seeded Maine to make an appearance in the semifinals.

2011–12 season

In 2011–12, Gallagher and the Hawks struggled in the early season with a roster featuring seven freshman, going 0-13 before finishing the year 9–9 on its way to a 9–22 record. The Hawks made the

Tournament semifinals once again after defeating Boston University, before falling in double-overtime to

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

for a place in the conference final.

2012–13 season

The 2012–13 season saw Gallagher guide the Hawks go 17–12 in the regular season, earning a fourth-place finish in the America East. After falling to UMBC in the

Championship quarterfinals, Hartford accepted a bid to the 2013 CIT, losing to Rider in the first round. This was the program's first postseason appearance since its move to Division I.

2017–18 season

On January 31, 2018 Gallagher earned his 100th victory as coach of Hartford with a 79–62 win over

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

. and on February 28, 2018 Gallagher was named America East Co-Coach of the year. Hartford returned to the CIT Tournament falling to

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

in the first round. After the 2017–2018 season Gallagher signed a contract extension.

2020–21 season

During the 2020–21 season, Gallagher led the Hawks to the

tournament championship, defeating

UMass Lowell The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell and UML) is a Public university, public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of M ...

64–50 earning an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. Hartford would fall to eventual national champion Baylor in the first round.

Sudden resignation prior to 2022–23

On November 7, 2022, just one day before Hartford was scheduled to start the 2022–23 season (its final year as a Division I member), Gallagher resigned unexpectedly. In his letter, Gallagher said the school had consistently undermined the program “to the point where player safety and well-being has been jeopardized.” He cited a preseason scrimmage at Dartmouth in late October, when one of his players was injured and wasn’t immediately helped because the school did not send an athletic trainer with the team. The university initially disputed the claims of player safety.

Manhattan

On March 29, 2023 Gallagher was named the head coach at Manhattan.

Head coaching record

Personal life

Gallagher graduated from

Saint Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a Private university, private Jesuits, Jesuit university in Philadelphia, Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Jesuits, Society of J ...

in 1999, where he played basketball under head coach

Phil Martelli Philip Martelli Sr. (born August 31, 1954) is an American college basketball coach, who was recently the associate head coach for the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball, Michigan Wolverines. As the former head coach of the Saint Joseph's Hawk ...

References

External links

Manhattan Jaspers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallagher, John 1977 births Living people Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Basketball players from Philadelphia College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Hartford Hawks men's basketball coaches Lafayette Leopards men's basketball coaches La Salle Explorers men's basketball coaches Manhattan Jaspers men's basketball coaches Penn Quakers men's basketball coaches Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball players