Athletes - Jay Wright

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	Athletes - Jay Wright

Jerold "Jay" Wright (born December 24 1961) is the men's head basketball coach of Villanova University. He was born in Churchville, Pennsylvania, USA, and was a Villanova fan as a kid. He is married to a former Villanova cheerleader.

Coaching Career

Assistant Coach

University of Rochester; 1984-1986
Drexel University; 1986-1987
Villanova University; 1987-1992
UNLV; 1992-1994

Head Coach

Hofstra University; 1994-2001
Villanova; 2001-Present

Personal Information

Wright graduated from Bucknell University in 1983, where he was a basketball player for his full four years. The next year, Wright got his first job as a coach at Division 3 Rochester. In 1986, he got his first position in Division 1 college basketball with Drexel. By 1994, Wright was a talked-up assistant at the UNLV.

When a head coaching job opened up at Hofstra, Wright was their first choice, and for the next 7 years, it would be a great fit. Wright got his first chance at a postseason game in the 1999 NIT Tournament, when Hofstra lost to Rutgers in the first round, 58-45. He says his greatest moment in coaching with Hofstra was the first year he took them to the NCAA Tournament, in 2000. As a No. 14 seed, Wright and Hofstra would lose to Oklahoma State 86-66. Wright took Hofstra back to the NCAA tournament the following year after capturing a second America East Championship. Once again Hofstra, a #13 seed, was defeated in the first round, this time to UCLA 61-48.

On March 27 2001, Wright was named the coach of Villanova becoming only the eighth coach, and fifth since 1936, in the 81-year history of Villanova men's basketball. He led Villanova to 3 NIT appearances before going 22-7 in the 2004-2005 season, earning a fifth seed in the NCAA Tournament. Wright's first NCAA Tournament victory came in 2005 against the New Mexico. Villanova also defeated Florida in the second round, and then lost by one point, to North Carolina, the No. 1 seed (and future champion). Villanova returned its starters from 2005 and appears ready for the 2005-2006 season. The Big East Coaches have voted Villanova the pre-season favorite to win the conference title and the Wildcats were ranked in the pre-season Top 4 of all major polls for the 2005-2006 year.

On February 14, 2006, Wright signed a 7-year contract with Villanova University which should make him head coach through the 2012-2013 season. The announcement came just one day after the Villanova men's basketball team beat #1 Connecticut by a score of 69-64, one of the biggest wins in the program's history.

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