Jay Wright Last College: Bucknell '83 Position: Head Coach Birthdate: 12/24/1961 Experience: 14 Years Coaching Record: 270-168 (148-83 Villanova)

In his seven seasons as head coach, Jay Wright has enhanced and added new chapters to the rich history of Villanova Basketball.

Villanova has earned NCAA Tournament invitations in each of the last four seasons under Wright's direction. It is only the third time in the program's 88 years that the `Cats have authored a streak of four or more consecutive tournament appearances (1969-72, 1980-86). Perhaps even more impressive is this: VU is 7-4 (.636) in NCAA Tournament action in that stretch with three Sweet 16 berths and one Elite Eight finish to its credit.

In the last four seasons Villanova has amassed a record of 96-37 (.729), produced a pair of National Basketball Association first round draft choices, captured outright or shared four straight Philadelphia Big Five crowns while establishing a new standard for consecutive victories in City Series play (13) and claimed a BIG EAST regular season championship (2006).

The 2007-08 campaign offered Wright and his staff one of the more challenging tasks of his Villanova tenure. With a roster devoid of seniors, the Wildcats endured growing pains as they acclimated themselves to the rigors of the BIG EAST Conference. In early February Villanova owned a 13-8 record and its post-season prospects appeared tenuous.

However, VU displayed the grit that has become such a staple of the program in the 21st century, picking up huge late season victories over West Virginia, Connecticut, Providence and Syracuse to gain an NCAA bid. Then, in another display of resiliency, the Wildcats rallied from an 18-point first half deficit to upset No. 5 seed Clemson in the opening round and followed that with a second round triumph over Siena before being eliminated by eventual champion Kansas - the third time in four years Villanova saw its season ended by the national champions in a regional.

It was just one more symbol of the vitality of Villanova basketball under Wright, who owns a 148-83 (.641) record as head coach of the Wildcats.

That strength showed itself in 2006-07 as well. Despite the loss of six seniors, including first round NBA draft choices Randy Foye (Minnesota Timberwolves) and Kyle Lowry (Memphis Grizzlies), the Wildcats responded with a 22-11 effort, winning seven of their last nine regular season games to earn an at-large bid to the 2007 NCAA Tournament. The `Cats also extended their school record Philadelphia Big Five winning streak to 11 straight with a perfect 4-0 record against their City Series rivals and freshman Scottie Reynolds joined Tim Thomas as the only Villanova players to earn BIG EAST Rookie of the Year honors.

In 2005-06, the Wildcats catalogued an impressive array of accomplishments despite the October loss of All-Big East forward Curtis Sumpter to season-ending knee surgery. Utilizing a four guard lineup, Villanova finished with 28 wins, the most in school history, earning a share of the Big East Conference regular season title along the way. It spent the entire season ranked in the top 10 of both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN polls, climbing as high as No. 2 in February. The Wildcats were rewarded with the first NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed in the program's history and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1988.

There were plenty of individual highlights too. Foye was named a consensus first team All-American and a Wooden Award finalist as well as Big East player of the year. Senior Allan Ray was a consensus All-American, Naismith Award finalist and first team All Big East choice. Wright received national coach of the year honors from CBS/Chevrolet; the Naismith Awards; and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). The native of Churchville, Pa., was also named Big East Coach of the Year and earned the Harry Litwack Award as the Eastern College Coach of the Year from the Herb Good Club in Philadelphia.

In 2004-05, the Wildcats enjoyed a breakthrough campaign. The club overcame a host of significant injuries to emerge as a force in the BIG EAST Conference, recording six victories over nationally ranked teams. In its Big East opener, the Wildcats defeated No. 21 West Virginia 84-46. Three weeks later, on a snowy afternoon at the Wachovia Center, Villanova got America's attention with an 83-62 victory over No. 2 Kansas. In February, there were wins over No. 17 Pittsburgh and No. 3 Boston College in the Pavilion.

Villanova completed the regular season with a 21-6 record (.778), its best winning percentage since 1995-96. It was awarded the school's first NCAA Tournament bid since 1999 and came up with victories over Mountain West Tournament champion New Mexico and Southeastern Conference Tournament champion Florida to reach the regional semifinal. Without Sumpter, who suffered a torn knee ligament in the win over the Gators, Villanova nearly upended top seed and eventual NCAA champion North Carolina, dropping a 67-66 decision that was not decided until the final horn sounded.

Wright was named Philadelphia Big Five Eastern College Coach of the Year for his efforts in leading VU to a 24-8 mark in 2004-05.

It was a significant milepost in a cycle of growth spawned when Wright returned to the university he had first served as an assistant coach to Rollie Massimino from 1987-92. From the day of his arrival as head coach on March 27, 2001 Wright's agenda was clear.

"We want to build an attitude of playing hard and playing together and playing with great passion," he stated then. "Most importantly, we want our guys to play with a pride in representing Villanova." Today those qualities indeed define Villanova basketball.

The first three seasons of Wright's head coaching tenure at Villanova offered snapshots of promise. In 2001-02, the Wildcats surprised observers by recording 19 victories, including a win over No. 16 UCLA, and reaching the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament. The next two seasons were marked by peaks and valleys as a 2002 recruiting class ranked among the nation's best acclimated itself to college. Yet Villanova continued its postseason streak, earning NIT bids in both 2003 and 2004 while also reaching the Big East Tournament semifinals in 2004.

Under Wright, Villanova basketball has grown in other ways. One of Wright's first priorities was to reach out to former Wildcat players to insure that they are an active part of the program. Towards that end, Wright's staff hosts an annual golf outing and alumni game as part of the university's basketball "Summer Jam".

Another clear sign of growth is that three former members of Wright's Villanova staff have now been entrusted to lead other programs. Joe Jones, a Villanova assistant coach from 1997-2003, is the head coach at Columbia. Billy Lange, a part of Wright's Wildcat staff from 2001-04, is the head coach at the United States Naval Academy and former associate head coach Fred Hill was named head coach at Rutgers in the spring of 2006.

This marks Wright's second stint at Villanova. He served as an assistant to former head coach Rollie Massimino for five seasons before moving on to the University of Nevada- Las Vegas for two more years as an assistant coach from 1992-94.

In 1994, Wright landed his first head coaching position. Hofstra University hired him to breathe life into a program that had struggled through the late 1980s and into the early part of the 1990s. Piece by piece, Wright transformed the Pride into a potent force in the America East Conference. This period was capped by a three-year run, which concluded in 2001, that saw Hofstra post a 72-22 (.766) record and make a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.

Wright earned America East Coach of the Year honors in both 1999-2000 and 2000-01. He was also tabbed Eastern Basketball's Coach of the Year in 1999-2000.

Five of those Wright has tutored as a college head coach moved on to the National Basketball Association following their college careers. Foye was taken with the seventh overall selection in the first round of the 2006 NBA Draft and is with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Lowry was also selected in the first round of the 2006 draft by Memphis and Ray spent the 2006-07 season with the Boston Celtics. Speedy Claxton, whom Wright coached at Hofstra, was a first round draft pick of Philadelphia in 2000 and has enjoyed an eight-year NBA career while his former Pride teammate, Norman Richardson, spent time with Indiana.

At Hofstra, Wright's teams improved on an annual basis, culminating in a 26-5 season of 2000-01. In each of Wright's last six seasons on Long Island, the team improved its victory total from the previous year. Under Wright's watch Claxton became only the second sophomore in school history to win America East Player of the Year honors and the Pride captured the first ECAC Holiday Festival in school history in 1998, defeating Pennsylvania and Georgia Tech.

Tom Pecora, who was by Wright's side throughout the seven seasons on Long Island, succeeded Wright as head coach. He is the fourth former Wright aide now directing a Division I program.

Academic success has been a key component of Wright's coaching career. Every player who has spent four years with Wright's programs at Villanova and Hofstra has earned his college degree.

Since becoming a head coach, Wright has also taken time out to work with USA Basketball. In August 2005 he served as head coach for the United States' entry in the World University Games which earned a gold medal. Team USA was dominant in amassing an 8-0 record by an average margin of victory of 29.9 points per game. For his efforts Wright was named USA Basketball Co-Developmental Coach of the Year. In the summer of 2007, he served as head coach of the United States' entry in the Pan American Games, leading the squad to a 3-2 record.

Previously, Wright served as an assistant coach under Syracuse University head coach Jim Boeheim for the USA Basketball World Championship for Young Men Qualifying Team in 2000.

Wright spent five years on the Main Line as an assistant coach from 1987-92. He performed a wide range of assignments for Massimino, including scouting, on-court coaching and recruiting. During his time at Villanova the Wildcats made three NCAA Tournament appearances and reached the Elite Eight in 1988.

Wright's coaching career began in 1984 at the University of Rochester. He also served as an aide to Eddie Burke at Drexel University.

A 1983 graduate of Bucknell University with degrees in economics and sociology, Wright was a four-year letterman in basketball. He earned both the Benton A. Kribbs Most Valuable Player and the Macolm E. Musser Leadership Awards as an undergraduate. Following graduation, Wright worked as an administrative assistant with the Philadelphia Stars football team that captured the 1983 United States Football League championship.

Since returning to Philadelphia, Wright has joined forces with his fellow Division I head coaches in the fight against cancer. Through the work of the head coaches at Drexel, La Salle, Penn, Saint Joseph's, Temple and Villanova, the Philadelphia chapter of Coaches vs. Cancer has become one of the top fundraising groups in the nation.

The product of Churchville, Pa., attended Council Rock High School. He is married to the former Patricia Reilly (Villanova class of 1983). The Wrights have two sons, Taylor (15), Colin (14), and a daughter, Reilly (9).