BRONX, N.Y. – Dave Paulsen, a member of the Fordham men's basketball staff for the past two seasons, has been named the head coach at Holy Cross, the college announced last night.
 
Paulsen will be formally introduced at a press conference in Worcester on Thursday.
 
"We couldn't be happier for Coach Paulsen and his family," said Fordham Head Coach Keith Urgo.  "Not only is Dave a brilliant basketball mind, but an amazing person first and foremost.  He's been a crucial part of our program over the last two years and I'm 100 percent confident that he's going to do great things at Holy Cross."
 
Paulsen spent the past two seasons at Fordham, first as a special advisor to then-head coach Kyle Neptune in 2021-22 before being elevated to the position of assistant coach this past year.  In his first season on staff, Paulsen helped guide the Rams to a 14-win improvement from the year prior, as the Rams finished 16-16 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the A-10 Tournament for the first time in 15 years.  This past year, Paulsen played a critical role in the best season for Fordham basketball in more than three decades, as the Rams finished with a record of 25-8, including a 12-6 mark in A-10 play.  The Rams' 12 wins and .667 conference winning percentage both set high-water marks for the program's A-10 tenure.  Fordham finished tied for second in the final regular season standings and advanced to the semifinals of the A-10 tournament for just the second time in program history.
 
Paulsen returns to the Patriot League, where he was a three-time conference coach of the year while leading Bucknell from 2008-15.  During that tenure, he went 134-94 overall, including a 74-32 record in league play.  Paulsen led the Bison to four postseason appearances, including a pair of NCAA Tournament berths in 2011 and 2013.  That 2013 squad finished with a record of 28-6 and a KenPom ranking of 58.  That season concluded a three-year stretch of Paulsen's Bucknell teams winning 25 games or more each season.
 
After Bucknell, Paulsen spent six seasons as an Atlantic 10 head coach, leading George Mason to four winning efforts, including a 20-win campaign in 2016-17.  In three of those six seasons, the Patriots finished fifth or better in the final A-10 standings.  In its two A-10 seasons prior to Paulsen signing on as head coach, Mason finished no better than 12^th.  Players recruited by Paulsen at George Mason have gone on to enjoy success at other institutions, including 2021 A-10 Rookie of the Year Tyler Kolek, who recently won BIG EAST Player of the Year honors at Marquette.  Jordan Miller, a third team all-conference selection at George Mason in 2021, scored 27 points in the Elite Eight for Miami on Sunday to clinch a spot in the Final Four.  George Mason senior Josh Oduro recently garnered his second consecutive spot on the All-Atlantic 10 First Team after leading the conference in rebounding and ranking sixth in scoring.
 
From 2000-08, Paulsen led his alma mater, Williams College, to a wildly successful stretch that included back-to-back NABC Division III National Coach of the Year honors (2003, 2004) and the 2003 Division III National Championship.  Paulsen also served as the head coach at LeMoyne and St. Lawrence before his remarkable run at Williams.
 
A Wisconsin native, Paulsen began his coaching career as an assistant at Williams in 1988 before serving as a graduate assistant under Steve Fisher at Michigan in 1989-90.  Six players from that team would go on to be NBA Draft picks.  From 1990-94 was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Cleveland State before taking over at St. Lawrence.