FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JOSEPH REILLY NAMED BATES MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH

LEWISTON, Maine -- Joseph P. Reilly, an assistant coach at Yale University since 1994,  has been named head men's basketball coach at Bates College.

As assistant coach at Yale, Reilly was the Bulldogs' head recruiter and junior varsity coach.


"We are excited to have a person of Joe Reilly's caliber at Bates," said Director of Athletics Suzanne Coffey. "His outstanding work at a school with a similar commitment to academics and athletics makes him an ideal fit for Bates."


"I am looking forward to joining the Bates staff and competing in the NESCAC," Reilly said. "It is a great conference with great coaches, and it will be an honor to compete against them. I look forward to working with the student-athletes at Bates to move the program in a positive direction."


A 1991 Trinity College graduate, Reilly was a two-time basketball captain and a member of the Bantams' 1988-89 ECAC New England Division III championship team. Reilly was the 13th 1,000-point scorer in school history and ranks sixth on Trinity's all-time assist list. He received a bachelor of arts degree in economics from Trinity and has a master's of business administration from the University of Rhode Island, where he served as a graduate assistant in the recreational services department.

Reilly becomes the 19th men's basketball coach in 62 years of basketball at Bates. He replaces Jeff Brown, who compiled a 30-41 record in three years at Bates and resigned in May to become head coach at Middlebury College in Vermont.

Reilly takes over a team that finished 8-16 last season and lost four seniors to graduation. 


A native of Newington, Conn., Reilly is a 1987 graduate of Newington High School, and a member of a prominent family of high school coaches. His father, Joe, for whom Reilly played at Newington, and an uncle, Gene, a coach at  Portland (Conn.) High School have combined for nearly 900 wins, while his brother, Luke, coaches at Berlin High School. 

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