WASHINGTON — Ed Cooley is the new men’s basketball coach at Georgetown, hired by Big East rival Providence in hopes of rebuilding a once-proud program that fell to new lows under the former star player. patrick ewing.
Georgetown announced the move Monday, after Providence issued a news release saying Cooley had resigned.
“I plan to get going, working on the field and cultivating relationships in and around the District,” Cooley said in a statement released by his new employer. “Accepting this opportunity with Georgetown is not a decision I made lightly.”
He leaves the Friars with a 242-153 record after 12 years and seven march madness appearances with a total of three tournament wins; the highlight was a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2022. His team went 21-12 this season, closing with four straight losses, including in the first round of the Big East Tournament against Connecticut and the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Kentucky. .
“Coach Cooley is a mentor to the young men and a consistent winner with impressive work,” said Georgetown Athletic Director Lee Reed. “His prior experience with him gives him an understanding of our Jesuit values and I am confident that he is the coach to return our program to prominence within the Big East and on a national level.”
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Cooley’s name was linked with the Georgetown job even as Providence’s season was still in progress, so he was asked about the 61-53 loss to Kentucky on Friday if i would come back The initial response: “Next question.”
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When a follow-up query arose about whether there was a chance this was his last game with the Friars, Cooley avoided a direct answer.
“There are all kinds of rumors and speculation, and I know you guys are trying to do your job. I get it,” said Cooley, whose daughter is a student at Georgetown. “But after a match like this, I think it’s fair to talk about our players. I think it’s fair to talk about the game.”
The Hoyas will be the 53-year-old Cooley’s third team as a college head coach; Before Providence, he was at Fairfield for five seasons. He is the first Georgetown head coach in roughly half a century without a direct link to the late John Thompson Jr., who took over in 1972, led the team when Ewing was a player, then was succeeded by assistant Craig. Esherick, who was followed by Thompson’s son John III, who gave way to Ewing.
Ewing was fired March 9 after going 75-109 in six seasons, 13-50 in the past two. Georgetown made just one March Madness appearance in that time, bowing out in the first round in 2021.
It was a pretty tough stretch for Ewing and the school he led to a national championship in 1984 and helped make two other runs to the title game.
His last two contests in charge of his alma mater were a pair of losses by a combined 72 points, one to close out the regular season against Creighton and another in the Big East Tournament against Villanova.
