Saint Joseph’s College and Director of Athletics Bill Massoels has announced Tom Church as the 18th head coach of the men’s basketball team. Coach Church makes his return to SJC after spending the past three seasons as an Assistant Coach at Florida Southern College. Before his three years at FSC, Church was an Assistant Coach for the Pumas from 2007-2010.
“The search committee and I looked at 98 resumes for this position, making an abundance of phone calls before narrowing the field of candidates,” said Director of Athletics Massoels. “We came to a conscience that Tom was the right person to guide our men’s basketball program. He is certainly accustomed to winning and we look forward to seeing that trend continue throughout his tenure.”
The past three seasons at Florida Southern with Church on the staff, the Moccasins were 70-25 with two Sunshine State Conference Tournament Championships in 2012 and 2013. The Moccasins made appearances in the NCAA Tournament all three years and won the South Regional to advance to the Division II Elite Eight this season.
“I would like to thank President F. Dennis Riegelnegg, Ed.D., Director of Athletics Bill Massoels, and the search committee for the opportunity to comeback to Saint Joseph’s College,” said Tom Church. “My wife, Jennifer, and I are excited to become a part of the community and atmosphere in Rensselaer, Ind. My goal is to create a winning environment on the court, in the classroom, and in the community. I plan to instill the values of Saint Joseph’s College into the student athletes and make the city, students, employees, and alumni proud of this program.”
In Church’s three years with SJC, the Pumas held a 53-37 record with two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2008 and 2010. In 2010 the Pumas won the Great Lakes Valley Conference North Division and won three straight games as the eighth seed in the Midwest Regional to advance to the Division II Elite Eight. Coach Church explained, “When I was a part of the success from 2007 to 2010, the atmosphere around the campus and community was extraordinary and I am eager to bring back the success and excitement from those years.”
Church attended Ashland University for four years, where he was twice named to the Academic All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Team and was a team captain as a senior in 2003. He started all but one game that year, averaging 8.9 points and 4.3 rebounds, and was second on the team in both three-pointers and three-point shooting percentage (40-for-105). In his collegiate career, Church made 104 three-point field goals and shot 38 percent from behind the arc.
Stay with HoopDirt for the latest college basketball coaching news and rumors.
