Tim Welsh reaches $3M deal to coach at Hofstra

Losing a coach as successful and well-respected as Tom Pecora could have been a damaging blow to Hofstra's basketball program, but the hiring Wednesday of Big East veteran Tim Welsh should play well with Pride supporters who might be worried about the direction of the athletic program.

In 10 seasons at Providence and three before that at Iona, Welsh reached the NCAA Tournament three times and earned five NIT bids. He has been where Pecora hopes to go with Fordham, and the fact Hofstra made a major commitment to land Welsh with a five-year contract worth $3 million, according to a source with knowledge of the deal, underscores the school's desire to improve what has been a winning program.

Welsh is scheduled to be introduced at a news conference Thursday at 11 a.m.

"Tim has won at two programs and has the ability to recruit in New York and identify talent in other areas," Hofstra athletic director Jack Hayes said after the hiring officially was announced Wednesday.

"His experience at Providence was very important that he had coached in what is arguably the most competitive basketball league in the country for 10 years and then three years being a very successful coach at a Division I school in the metropolitan area. The combination of those two, we thought, was a perfect fit."

Since leaving the America East Conference for the Colonial Athletic Association, Hofstra has been unable to win a league title or earn an NCAA berth.

For the past two seasons since his firing at Providence, Welsh has been a television analyst for ESPN and other outlets.

"If he was going to go back into coaching, he was going to do it at a place that was committed to winning and to do things the right way and playing at a high level," Hayes said.

Commenting on Hofstra's financial commitment, Hayes said, "Over the last 16 years, we've had two people who were very successful in building this basketball program . We want to continue that success, but we also want to advance and win conference championships and participate in the NCAA Tournament. We feel Tim Welsh is the person who can help us do that."

Hayes and Hofstra president Stuart Rabinowitz worked with retired Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese to identify candidates. Because the Big East offices are located in Providence and Hayes is a graduate of that school, they shared a connection with Welsh, which is why they were well down the road with him before competition from Siena and Iona materialized.

Welsh toured Hofstra's facilities Monday night with executive associate athletic director Danny McCabe, who previously worked at Providence when Welsh was the coach. Welsh then met Rabinowitz Tuesday morning and reached an agreement later in the day.

Welsh now will go to work recruiting. "Because he has spent these last two years involved in college basketball and very visible on television," Hayes said, "I think he is able to hit the ground running immediately."