After serving as a special assistant coach for the Fordham men’s basketball program in 2021-2022, Dave Paulsen has been named an assistant coach for the Rams it was announced by head coach Keith Urgo.
Paulsen arrived at Fordham after serving as the head coach at George Mason University from 2015-2021, leading the Patriots to a top-5 Atlantic 10 finish in two of his last four seasons. In addition, the Mason program under Paulsen became synonymous with player development. In three of his last five seasons, a Mason student-athlete garnered the league’s Chris Daniels Most Improved Player Award. That group includes AJ Wilson (2020), Justin Kier (2019) and Marquise Moore (2017).
During the 2019-20 campaign, Paulsen led the Green & Gold to the Cayman Islands Classic title and a school-record 11 non-conference victories. The program also continued its A-10 Tournament streak, capturing a victory for a school-record fourth-straight season.
In 2018-19, Paulsen paced the Patriots to school A-10 records for conference wins (11) and road wins (5). Mason tied its best-ever A-10 finish (5th) and advanced in the A-10 Tournament. That came after a fifth place showing in 2017-18, which at the time set a program record for best finish within the league.
During the 2016-17 season, Paulsen engineered one of the best turnarounds in the country while leading the Patriots to a number of program firsts. One of the top-20 most improved teams in the nation, Mason posted a 20-14 record, marking a nine-win improvement from the 2015-16 campaign.
A Wisconsin native, Paulsen arrived at George Mason from Bucknell University, where he earned Patriot League Coach of the Year honors on three occasions.
In Paulsen’s seven-year tenure at Bucknell from 2008-15, the Bison became the first team in Patriot League history to record three straight regular season titles, having amassed four outright regular season championships in the last five years. He led the Bison to four postseason berths – two NCAA appearances and two NITs – during that span.
Paulsen, a 1987 Williams graduate and a Phi Beta Kappa scholar, has coached at every level of college basketball during the past two decades and is considered a highly sought-after consultant on the principles of the motion offense.
Paulsen and his wife, Kathy, have three daughters: Claire, Sara, and Molly.
