Tom Brennan

Tom Brennan is a radio and television sportscaster and former men's basketball head coach, most notably at the University of Vermont from 1986 to 2005.

Coaching career

Raised in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, Brennan graduated as the all-time leading scorer at Phillipsburg Catholic High School. Brennan graduated from the University of Georgia in 1971, where as a senior he received the men's basketball team leadership award.

He began his coaching after graduating in the fall of 1971 as a graduate assistant at Georgia under Ken Rosemond. Sandwiched around a year as head basketball and baseball coach at Division III Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey, Brennan was an assistant under college basketball coaches Rollie Massimino at Villanova, Bill Raftery at Seton Hall and Bruce Parkhill at William & Mary. In 1982 he was named head coach at Yale where he crafted a four-year record of 46-58 including back-to-back seasons of 14-12 and 13-13. At Yale he coached players such as Earl G. Graves, Jr. "Butch" and NBA veteran Chris Dudley.

In his 19 years as the head coach of the Vermont Catamounts, Brennan never lost a Vermont native via scholarship to another Division I school.Fact|date=March 2008

Corm and the Coach

Brennan also co-hosted a morning radio show in Burlington, Vermont called "Corm and the Coach," with radio personality Steve Cormier, on WCVP-FM 101.3 and WCVR-FM 102.1. The show ran from 1992 to July 2, 2008. [cite web |url = http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080610/SPORTS/80610034/1001/NEWS |title = Coach to exit 'Corm and the Coach' |accessdate = 2008-07-02 |author = Donoghue, Mike |date = 2007-06-10 |publisher = "Burlington Free Press" ] During its run, the show scored higher ratings than both Howard Stern and Don Imus.Fact|date=March 2008 Brennan delivered "Saturday Night Live"-style sports reports and his thoughts on basketball, politics, entertainment, local news and psychology. The Coach’s repertoire also included live, pre-dawn wake-up calls to his players and coaching colleagues. In 1996 and 2000, his radio show received the Vermont Associated Press award for the state's top radio sports feature.Fact|date=March 2008 In the 2003 and 2004 off-seasons, he also was a co-host on several ESPN national radio shows. The radio show has made Brennan among the most recognized and popular personalities in all of Vermont.Fact|date=March 2008 He retired from his Coaching position in March of 2005 and was replaced by current head coach Mike Lonergan.

Accomplishments

* Hired as Analyst by ESPN in 2005 [cite web |url = http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/2005-11-15-hiestand_x.htm |title = Ex-Vermont coach has just the job he never wanted |accessdate = 2008-07-02 |author = Hiestand, Michael |date = 2005-11-15 |publisher = "Burlington Free Press" ]
* Led team to a defeat of Syracuse University in the first round of the 2005 NCAA TournamentFact|date=March 2008
* 2005 America East ChampionsFact|date=March 2008
* 2004 America East ChampionsFact|date=March 2008
* 2003 America East ChampionsFact|date=March 2008
* 2002 America East Regular Season ChampionsFact|date=March 2008
* 2004 Collegeinsider.com Final National Mid Major Poll- 24thFact|date=March 2008
* 2004 Associated Press Final National Poll- also receiving votes Fact|date=March 2008
* 2002 Collegeinsider.com Final National Mid Major Poll- 24thFact|date=March 2008
* CollegeInsider.com National Outstanding Achievement Award, 2002Fact|date=March 2008
* America East Coach of the Year, 1991, 1998 and 2002Fact|date=March 2008
* NABC District I (New England) Coach of the Year, 1991 and 2002Fact|date=March 2008
* All-Time Leader in Games Coached At VermontFact|date=March 2008
* Second All-Time in Victories At VermontFact|date=March 2008
* His 19 year-tenure is the longest of any coach in the history of the America East and is tied for the longest current stint at one school among New England Division I programs.Fact|date=March 2008
* 2000 Doggie Julian Award for Distinguished Service in New England College Basketball (N.E. Coaches Association).Fact|date=March 2008
* Of the 56 head coaches who began with their school in 1986-87, just three—Brennan, Jim Calhoun of UConn and Fang Mitchell of Coppin State—were still at the same program in 2004-05. In 2003-04, Brennan was one of just 18 of the current coaches to serve at the same Division I school for 17 or more seasons.Fact|date=March 2008

Family

Brennan and his wife, Lynn reside on Lake Champlain in Colchester, Vermont. He has two children: Kelly, who graduated from UVM in 1993 and is married to Brady Frost, a former Catamount standout pitcher; and Brian who was a standout guard at Indiana (Pa.) University, which reached the NCAA D-II Elite Eight in 2000. In the winter of 2002-03, Brennan became a grandfather for the first time and currently has three grandsons - Caleb Brennan and Brennan & Ryder Frost.Fact|date=March 2008

References