After 15 years in Iowa City, Fran McCaffery has found a new home. McCaffery was fired on March 14 after 15 years at the helm of the Iowa Men's Basketball program. The Hawkeyes stumbled down the stretch, finishing with a 17-16 (7-13 Big Ten) record.
McCaffery's career at Iowa ended after being ejected at 13:33 in the second half of the Hawkeyes' loss against Illinois in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament..
After Iowa could not make a run in the Big Ten Tournament, they did not receive an invitation to the NCAA Tournament, and McCaffery's tenure was over. This is the second straight season the Hawkeyes did not make it to the Big Dance.
After McCaffery stated he had no plans of leaving, Iowa Athletic Director Beth Goetz fired him a day after the Hawkeyes' loss. He was replaced 10 days later by former Drake Bulldogs Head Coach Ben McCollum.
The 65-year-old Head Coach was finished at Iowa, but he did not want to give up on head coaching elsewhere. On Monday, McCaffery was officially announced as the new head coach at the University of Pennsylvania.
Fran McCaffery at his introductory press conference as Penn's basketball coach: "This is beyond, I would say, a proud moment for me." pic.twitter.com/Efp27BIYuq
— Tyler Tachman (@Tyler_T15) April 7, 2025
McCaffery returns to his Alma Mater to lead the Men's Basketball program. McCaffery was a player at Penn from 1979 to 1982. During his time as the point guard for Penn, McCaffery was nicknamed "White Magic" because of his passing abilities.
During his senior season (1981-1982), McCaffery led the Ivy League in assists (105) and steals (51) en route to an Ivy League title and an NCAA Tournament berth. He led the Quakers to three Ivy League titles and two NCAA Tournament berths.
McCaffery began his head coaching career at Lehigh University (1985-1988) before making an 11-year stop as an assistant coach for the University of Notre Dame (1988-1999). McCaffery returned to head coaching with the University of North Carolina-Greensboro (1999-2005).
After six seasons at the helm of UNC Greensboro, McCaffery moved to Sienna for six seasons (2005-2010). McCaffery arrived in Iowa City in 2010 and took over for much-maligned coach Todd Lickliter.
In 15 seasons at Iowa, McCaffery compiled a 297-207 record, with one Big Ten Conference Tournament title and seven NCAA Tournament appearances. During his tenure, the Hawkeyes never made it beyond the Sweet 16.
In over 20 years as a head coach, McCaffery has an overall record of 548-384 in 932 games.
McCaffery takes over a Penn Men's Basketball program that had a down year in 2024-2025. Penn finished with an 8-19 (4-10 Ivy League) record. In his first season at the helm of the Quakers, McCaffery will attempt to turn the program around.