Merrimack College Head Men’s Basketball Coach Joe Gallo has signed a new 10-year contract that will keep him with the team through the 2034-35 season, Fr. Bryan Kerns, O.S.A., Vice President and Chief of Staff to the President and Interim Vice President for Athletics, announced on Thursday.
“Joe Gallo‘s impact at Merrimack College goes well beyond the basketball court,” said Merrimack College President Christopher E. Hopey, Ph.D. “He is not only a championship-winning coach, but a dedicated leader who helped to ensure our successful transition to the Division I level, bringing the Merrimack brand to new audiences. Joe’s family has become an integral part of the Merrimack community and we look forward to many more successful years with them.”
“Megan and I are extremely excited to be able to continue to build our lives at Merrimack,” Coach Gallo said. “Our school and our basketball program continue to transform under the leadership of Dr. Hopey and there is still so much more to accomplish. I want to thank Dr. Hopey and Fr. Bryan for their support and belief in me. There is no place like home.”
“Joe Gallo is Merrimack College men’s basketball,” Kerns said. “First as a player and now as head coach, Joe has been instrumental in the program’s rise to national prominence. We are grateful Joe, his wife Megan, and sons Joey and Trey will continue to be part of the Warrior family and we look forward to building on the success of the men’s basketball program and Merrimack Athletics.”
A 2004 graduate of Merrimack College, Gallo is one of the most successful coaches to transition to the Division I level in NCAA history. Since Merrimack Athletics moved to the highest level of collegiate athletics in 2019-20, the men’s basketball program has won a conference championship and three regular season championships, and boasts an overall record of 100 wins and 79 losses.
Under Gallo’s tutelage at the Division I level, several Warriors have won Conference Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year Awards.
The 2024-25 season saw Merrimack’s first in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). Gallo guided Merrimack to a second seed in the 2025 MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship and a spot in the tournament semifinals. Merrimack competed in the Northeast Conference for its first five years in Division I. During that time, Gallo and the Warriors won three Northeast Conference regular-season titles (2019-20, 22-23, 23-24), as well as a Northeast Conference tournament championship (22-23).
At the Division II level, Gallo completed a run of three NCAA Tournament appearances in three years. He also snapped a 19-year conference championship drought when he guided the program to the 2018-19 Northeast-10 Conference Championship.
Before coming back to North Andover in 2016, Gallo had coaching stops at Dartmouth College (2010-12) and Robert Morris University (2012-16). He got his coaching start as a Merrimack assistant from 2005-09.
