List of Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball head coaches

Last updated March 21, 2023

The following is a list of Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball head coaches. The Hoyas have had 17 coaches in their 113-year, 111-season history. Patrick Ewing is the current head coach.

Tenure	Coach	Years	Record	Pct.	Conference championships and co-championships^{[note 1]}	Postseason tournaments^{[note 2]}	Notes
1906-1907	no coach	1	2-2	.500	–	–	Student manager Lou Murray ran the team
1907-1911	Maurice Joyce	4	32-20	.615	–	–
1911-1914	James E. Colliflower	3	32-18	.640	–	–	Returned for 1921-1922 season
1914-1921	John O'Reilly	7	65-30	.684	–	–	Returned for 1923-1927 seasons
1921-1922	James E. Colliflower	1	11-3	.786	–	–	Previously coached 1911-1914 Overall Georgetown record: 4 seasons, 43-20 (.683)
1922-1923	John "Jackie" Maloney	1	8-3	.727	–	–
1923-1927	John O'Reilly	4	22-17	.563	–	–	Previously coached 1914-1921 Overall Georgetown record: 11 seasons, 87-47 (.619)
1927-1929	Elmer Ripley	2	24-6	.800	–	–	Returned for 1938-1943, 1946-1949 seasons
1929-1930	Bill Dudack	1	13-12	.520	–	–
1930-1931	John Colrick	1	5-16	.238	–	–
1931-1938	Fred Mesmer	7	53-76	.411	none	none
1938-1943	Elmer Ripley	5	68–39	.636	EIC regular season co-champion 1938-39	NCAA 1943; NCAA Final Four 1943	Previously coached 1927-1929 seasons Returned for 1946-1949 seasons
1943-1945	Program suspended for World War II
1945-1946	Ken Engles	1	11-9	.550	–	none	The only player-coach in the program's history
1946-1949	Elmer Ripley	3	41–37	.526	–	none	Previously coached 1927-1929, 1938-1943 seasons Overall Georgetown record: 10 seasons, 133-82 (.619)
1949-1952	Francis "Buddy" O'Grady	3	35-36	.493	–	none
1952-1956	Harry "Buddy" Jeannette	4	49-49	.500	–	NIT 1953
1956-1960	Tom Nolan	4	40-49	.449	–	none
1960-1966	Tommy O'Keefe	6	82-60	.578	–	none
1966-1972	John "Jack" Magee	6	69-79	.465	–	NIT 1970
1972-1999	John Thompson, Jr.	26+1⁄2	596-239	.715	ECAC South Region tournament 1975, 1976; ECAC South-Upstate Region tournament 1979; Big East regular season 1979-80, 1983-84, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1991-92; Big East 7 Division regular season 1995-96, 1996–97; Big East Tournament 1980, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989	NCAA 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997; NCAA Final Four 1982, 1984, 1985; National championship 1984; NIT 1977, 1978, 1993, 1998	Resigned January 8, 1999, with 1998-1999 season underway,^[1]
1999-2004	Craig Esherick	5+1⁄2	103-74	.597	none	NCAA 2001; NIT 1999, 2000, 2003; Declined NIT invitation 2002	Became head coach during 1998-1999 season after John Thompson, Jr., resigned on January 8, 1999.^[1] Fired March 16, 2004.
2004-2017	John Thompson III	13	278-151	.648	Big East regular season 2006-07, 2007–08, 2012–13; Big East Tournament 2007	NCAA 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013; 2015; NCAA Final Four 2007; NIT 2005, 2009, 2014	Fired March 23, 2017.
2017–2023	Patrick Ewing	6	75–109	.408	Big East Tournament 2021	NCAA 2021 NIT 2019	Fired March 9, 2023.^[2]
2023–present	Ed Cooley	1	0–0	.000
Totals	17 coaches	114 years; 112 seasons	1714–1133	.602	11 regular season championships and co-championships 11 tournament championships	31 NCAA appearances 5 NCAA Final Four appearances 1 national championship 13 NIT appearances^{[note 3]}	Totals through end of 2022-2023 season

Notes

↑ Georgetown was an independent until 1932. From 1932 to 1939, Georgetown was a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Conference (EIC), which held no end-of-season conference tournament. From 1939 to 1979, Georgetown was again an independent, although from 1975 to 1979 it participated in one of the regional end-of-season ECAC Tournaments organized by the Eastern College Athletic Conference – a loosely organized sports federation of Eastern colleges and universities – for ECAC members which played as independents during the regular season; each of these regional tournaments provided its winner with an automatic bid to that year's NCAA tournament in the same manner as conference tournaments of conventional conferences. From 1979 to 2013, Georgetown was a member of the original Big East Conference and participated in its annual end-of-season conference tournament. In 2013, Georgetown left the original Big East Conference and joined a new Big East Conference; it participates in the new Big East's annual end-of-season conference tournament. The new Big East inherited the history and traditions of the original Big East, and the original Big East became the American Athletic Conference in 2013.
↑ The National Invitation Tournament began play in 1938. The NCAA tournament began play in 1939.
↑ Does not include the invitation to the 2002 National Invitation Tournament, which Craig Esherick declined.

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The 1981–82 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 27, 1981, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1982 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship game on March 29, 1982, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The North Carolina Tar Heels won their second NCAA national championship with a 63–62 victory over the Georgetown Hoyas.

The 1978–79 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University during the 1978–79 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, coached them in his seventh season as head coach. An independent, Georgetown played its home games at McDonough Gymnasium on the Georgetown campus in Washington, D.C., and finished the season with a record of 24–5. The team won the ECAC South-Upstate Region tournament championship, earning its first NCAA tournament bid since 1976. The Hoyas received a first-round bye and lost in the second round to Rutgers.

The 1998–99 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 1998–99 NCAA Division I college basketball season. They were coached by John Thompson, in his 27th season as head coach until January 8, 1999, when he resigned and Craig Esherick succeeded him. The Hoyas played most of their home games at the MCI Center in Washington, DC, although they played one home game at McDonough Gymnasium on the Georgetown campus. They were members of the Big East Conference and finished the season 15–16, 6–12 in Big East play. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the 1999 Big East men's basketball tournament before losing to Miami. Not invited to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament for the second year in a row, they instead appeared in the 1999 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) – their second consecutive appearance in the NIT – and lost to Princeton in the first round. Georgetown finished with its first losing record since the 1972–73 season.

The 1979–80 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 1978–79 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, coached them in his eighth season as head coach. It was the Hoyas' first season as members of the original Big East Conference, which began play this season; prior to this year, Georgetown had been an independent during the 38 seasons it had fielded a team since the dissolution of the Eastern Intercollegiate Conference at the end of the 1938-39 season. Georgetown would remain a member of the original Big East for 34 seasons, through the end of the 2012–13 season. The team's penchant for playing tight games decided in the last seconds led to it being nicknamed the Heart Attack Hoyas.

The 1977–78 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University during the 1977–78 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, coached them in his sixth season as head coach. An independent, Georgetown played its home games at McDonough Gymnasium on the Georgetown campus in Washington, D.C., and finished the season with a record of 23-8. Knocked out of the ECAC South-Upstate Region tournament in the semifinals, the team missed an NCAA tournament bid for the second consecutive season. The Hoyas instead appeared in the 1978 National Invitation Tournament (NIT), their second straight NIT appearance, and finished in fourth place.

The 1976–77 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University during the 1976–77 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, coached them in his fifth season as head coach. An independent, Georgetown played its home games at McDonough Gymnasium on the Georgetown campus in Washington, D.C., and finished the season with a record of 19-9. Knocked out of the ECAC South Region tournament for the first time in the semifinals, the team missed an NCAA tournament bid for the first time since 1974. The Hoyas instead appeared in the 1977 National Invitation Tournament (NIT), their first NIT appearance since 1970, and lost in the first round to Virginia Tech.

The 1975–76 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University during the 1975–76 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, coached them in his fourth season as head coach. An independent, Georgetown played its home games at McDonough Gymnasium on the Georgetown campus in Washington, D.C., and finished the season with a record of 21-7. The team won the 1976 ECAC South Region tournament and appeared in the 1976 NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year, losing in the first round to Arizona.

The 1974–75 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University during the 1974–75 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, coached them in his third season as head coach. Georgetown was an independent that played its home games at McDonough Gymnasium on the Georgetown campus in Washington, D.C., and finished the season with a record of 18-10. The team won the 1975 ECAC South Region tournament and appeared in the 1975 NCAA tournament – the Hoyas's first appearance in that tournament since 1943 – and lost to Central Michigan in the first round.

The 1938–39 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University during the 1938–39 NCAA college basketball season. Elmer Ripley, who had coached Georgetown previously from 1927 to 1929, returned for his second of three stints as head coach; it was his third season overall as the Hoyas' head coach. The team was a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Conference (EIC) and played its home games at Tech Gymnasium on the campus of McKinley Technical High School in Washington, D.C. The team finished as conference co-champion, with a record of 6-4 in the EIC and 13-9 overall. It had no postseason play.

The 1932–33 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University during the 1932–33 NCAA college basketball season. Fred Mesmer coached it in his second season as head coach. For the first time in its history, Georgetown was a member of an athletic conference for basketball competition, joining Carnegie Tech, Pittsburgh, Temple, and West Virginia as founding members of the Eastern Intercollegiate Conference (EIC), which began play this season; Georgetown would remain a member of the EIC until it disbanded after the end of the 1938-39 season. The team played its home games at Tech Gymnasium on the campus of McKinley Technical High School in Washington, D.C. – except for one home game it played at Central High School Gymnasium on the campus of Washington, D.C.'s Central High School – and finished with a record of 6-11 overall, 3-5 in the EIC.

The 2017–18 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hoyas, led by first-year head coach Patrick Ewing, played their home games at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 15–15, 5–13 in Big East play to finish in eighth place. They lost in the first round of the Big East tournament to St. John's.

The 2022–23 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hoyas, led by sixth-year head coach Patrick Ewing, were members of the Big East Conference. The Hoyas played their home games at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. They finished the season 7–24, 2–18 in Big East play to finish in last place for the second consecutive year. As the No. 11 seed in the Big East tournament, they lost to Villanova in the opening round, and had no postseason play.

References

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[conference-1] Georgetown was an independent until 1932. From 1932 to 1939, Georgetown was a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Conference (EIC), which held no end-of-season conference tournament. From 1939 to 1979, Georgetown was again an independent, although from 1975 to 1979 it participated in one of the regional end-of-season ECAC Tournaments organized by the Eastern College Athletic Conference – a loosely organized sports federation of Eastern colleges and universities – for ECAC members which played as independents during the regular season; each of these regional tournaments provided its winner with an automatic bid to that year's NCAA tournament in the same manner as conference tournaments of conventional conferences. From 1979 to 2013, Georgetown was a member of the original Big East Conference and participated in its annual end-of-season conference tournament. In 2013, Georgetown left the original Big East Conference and joined a new Big East Conference; it participates in the new Big East's annual end-of-season conference tournament. The new Big East inherited the history and traditions of the original Big East, and the original Big East became the American Athletic Conference in 2013.

[nit1938-2] The National Invitation Tournament began play in 1938. The NCAA tournament began play in 1939.

[nit2002-5] Does not include the invitation to the 2002 National Invitation Tournament, which Craig Esherick declined.

[thompson-3] 1 2 Norwood, Robyn, "Thompson Resigns From Georgetown," The Los Angeles Times, January 9, 1999.

[4] Fendricjh, Howard, "Patrick Ewing fired by Georgetown; went 13-50 last 2 seasons," Associated Press, March 9, 2023 Accessed March 10, 2023

[note 1]

[note 2]

[1]

[2]

[note 3]

v t e Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball
Venues	Washington Light Infantry Armory (1906–1907) Convention Hall (1907–1908) Odd Fellows Hall (1908–1911) Arcade Rink (1911–1914, 1927–1928) Ryan Gymnasium (1914–1927) Clendenen Gymnasium (1928–1929) Tech Gymnasium (1929–1940, 1942–1943) Riverside Stadium (1940–1942) Brookland Gymnasium (1945–1946) Uline Arena (1946–1947, 1949–1951) D.C. Armory (1947–1949) McDonough Gymnasium (1951–present) Capital Centre (1981–1997) Capital One Arena (1997–present)
Rivalries	St. John's UConn
Culture & lore	History Hoya Saxa Jack the Bulldog There Goes Old Georgetown 1989 Princeton game Above the Rim
People	Head coaches NBA draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics