 Phelps on ESPN's College Gameday broadcast in 2008 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1941-07-04)July 4, 1941 (age 84) Beacon, New York, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1960–1963 | Rider |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1963–1964 | Rider (GA) |
| 1965–1966 | St. Gabriel's HS (PA) |
| 1966–1969 | Penn (assistant) |
| 1970–1971 | Fordham |
| 1971–1991 | Notre Dame |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 419–200 (.677) (college) |
| Tournaments | 17–17 (NCAA Division I) 7–3 (NIT) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| NCAA Regional – Final Four (1978) | |
| Awards | |
| Sporting News Coach of the Year Award (1974) UPI Coach of the Year (1974) | |
Richard Frederick "Digger" Phelps (born July 4, 1941) is an American formercollege basketball coach, most notably of theNotre Dame Fighting Irish from 1971 to 1991. For 20 years, from 1993 to 2014, he served as an analyst onESPN. He got the nickname "Digger" from his friends.
Phelps was born inBeacon, New York. His family ran a funeral home business in the city.[1] He worked at his father's business on weekends and during summer. He got the nickname "digger" from his friends.[2]
Phelps began his coaching career in 1963 as a graduate assistant atRider College (now Rider University), where he had played basketball. After a move to St. Gabriel's High School inHazleton, Pennsylvania, he obtained his first full assistant job in 1966 at theUniversity of Pennsylvania inPhiladelphia.[1]
His first head coaching job came in 1970 atFordham University inThe Bronx, where he coachedCharlie Yelverton andP. J. Carlesimo, the athletic director's son. Phelps led the Rams to a 24–2 record in the 1970–71 regular season and a #9national ranking.[3]
Fordham received an at-large bid to the 25-teamNCAA tournament, where they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, and won the consolation game for third place in the East regional.[4]
In May 1971 at age 29, Phelps was named head coach at theUniversity of Notre Dame.[5]
During his 20 seasons (1971–91) tenure, Phelps' Notre Dame teams went 393–197 (.666), with 14 seasons of 20 wins or more. In 1978, Notre Dame made its onlyFinal Four appearance to date. His most-remembered game occurred in1974, when the second-ranked Fighting Irish scored the last 12 points of the game on January 19 to upset top-rankedUCLA, coached byJohn Wooden, 71–70, ending the Bruins' record 88-game winning streak.[6][7] He shares the NCAA record for most upsets over a #1 team at seven withGary Williams:
| Date | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|
| January 19,1974 | UCLA | 71–70 |
| March 5,1977 | San Francisco | 93–82 |
| February 26, 1978 | Marquette | 65–59 |
| February 27,1980 | DePaul | 76–74 (2ot) |
| December 27,1980 | Kentucky | 67–61 |
| February 22,1981 | Virginia | 57–56 |
| February 1, 1987 | North Carolina | 60–58 |
Phelps began his broadcasting career when he served as a commentator forABC Sports' basketball coverage at the1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In 1992, he continued his broadcasting career when he providedcolor commentary for that year'sNCAA tournament forCBS. He joinedESPN the next season and worked for them until 2014 as a college basketball studio and game analyst.[8]
During the April 7, 2014 broadcast ofCollege GameDay, Phelps announced that he was leaving ESPN. "I spent 20 years at Notre Dame as a coach and now 20 years here at ESPN doing a great job with all you people. And now it's time for me to move forward, and this will be my last time on TV," Phelps said. Phelps added: "It's been a great run. Twenty years is always my target for everything, and it's time to move forward."
Phelps resides in South Bend with his wifeTerry, and has three adult children. His eldest, Karen, was married tobaseball pitcherJamie Moyer.[9] He is a member of theTau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at Rider College.[10]
Phelps was instrumental in the restoration of various programs atJohn McDonogh High School inNew Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina. His gifts helped to restore the sports program and helped to launch a four-year Culinary Academy in partnership with the Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation and the Recovery School District on December 15, 2010.[11]
In April 2013, Phelps was diagnosed withbladder cancer.[12][13] On July 1, 2013, his doctor declared him in remission.[14]
Media related toDigger Phelps at Wikimedia Commons