The Quinnipiac men’s basketball program and Head Coach Tom Pecora are thrilled to announce the hiring of Tom Parrotta as the Bobcats’ newest assistant coach, as revealed on Monday, May 18, 2026.
A seasoned veteran with over three decades of collegiate coaching experience, Parrotta officially joins the Bobcats’ staff bringing a proven track record of player development and championship-level recruiting.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome Tom Parrotta to the Bobcat family,” Quinnipiac Head Coach Tom Pecora said. “Tom is a phenomenal basketball mind, an elite recruiter, and a coach who will help develop our student-athletes at the highest level. I know firsthand the culture of excellence he helps foster. He knows what it takes to win, and his experience will be invaluable to our program as we continue to compete for championships.”
Parrotta most recently wrapped up his second stint as an assistant coach at Hofstra, serving on Head Coach Speedy Claxton’s staff. Parrotta helped guide the Pride to 24 wins and a CAA Championship this past season in 2025-26.
The hiring marks a reunion for Parrotta and Pecora. The duo boasts a long, successful history of leadership on the sidelines, having previously spent eight seasons coaching alongside one another. Parrotta served as an assistant coach under Pecora at Hofstra from 2001-2006, then again served on Pecora’s staff at Fordham from 2012-2015.
“Coach Pecora is a very special person to me and my family, and I can’t thank him enough for extending this opportunity to reunite after all these years,” Parrotta said. “This really feels like things have come full circle for me. I grew up around the MAAC, played in it, and this will be my fourth time coaching at a school in this league. I love this conference, and I am incredibly grateful to be back. Quinnipiac already has a strong and successful foundation in place, and I’m excited to bring my years of experience to the table and help this program continue to compete for championships.”
The chemistry between Pecora and Parrotta spans over two decades of collegiate basketball history. During his first stint at Hofstra from 2001-2006, Parrotta helped guide the Pride to consecutive 20-win seasons and multiple postseason appearances, establishing Hofstra as a mid-major powerhouse. Parrotta joined the Hofstra staff as the program transitioned to the CAA, and by the time he departed the team earned 21 wins in 2004-05 and 26 victories in 2005-06. Both years Hofstra would earn an appearance in the National Invitation Tournament, with the ’05-06 team reaching the quarterfinal round.
Parrotta was then reunited with Pecora at Fordham from 2012-2015, where he assisted in all areas of the program and served as the recruiting coordinator.
A former head coach at Canisius from 2006 to 2012, Parrotta improved the team’s win total by three in his first year. He would guide the Golden Griffins to a pair of 15-win seasons during his tenure at Canisius and oversaw the development of seven different MAAC postseason award recipients. The back-to-back 15-win seasons marked the first time in a decade that Canisius had achieved that victory total in consecutive years.
Parrotta’s first experience at the NCAA Division I level came at Niagara University from 1996 to 2001. He helped the Purple Eagles improve their win total in each of his first three years on staff and oversaw the program’s summer camps/assisted in a variety of other areas. Niagara also made back-to-back trips to the MAAC semifinals during his time there.
He also coached in the MAAC at Fairfield from 2015-19, helping the Stags earn 19 wins in 2015-16 and a berth in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
Following his time at Fairfield, Parrotta served as an assistant at Columbia during 2020-21.
He then returned to Hofstra in 2021, serving on Speedy Claxton’s staff as an assistant coach. The Pride won 105 games over the last five seasons, including four separate 20+ win campaigns. The CAA Championship in 2025-26 gave the Pride an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, Hofstra’s first appearance since 2001.
Parrotta started his career at Nazareth College in Rochester, New York, in 1995. He also served as a consultant for the National Basketball Association in 2019, assisting the league with the NBA Africa Basketball Combine and Global Youth Basketball.
A 1991 graduate of Fordham with a degree in communication, Parrotta scored 998 points for the Rams during his career as a student-athlete and was an All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and All-Met honoree as a senior. He earned his master’s degree in sports administration from Canisius in 2011.
Parrotta played three seasons of professional basketball in the Portuguese Basketball Association, helping the team to an undefeated 33-0 season in his first campaign. He led the squad in scoring and rebounding during his first pro season.
Parrotta attended Archbishop Stepinac in White Plains, New York, and was inducted into the Stepinac Hardwood Club, the school’s hall of fame, in 2010.
