Western New England University director of athletics Dr. Mike Theulen Tuesday announced that Colin Tabb will be the eighth coach in the history of the Golden Bears men’s basketball program, which is entering its 50th season in 2015-16. Tabb, a former All-America player at fellow NCAA Division III institution Trinity College, replaces Theulen, who coached Western New England during two stints from 2005-08 and 2012-15; Theulen will remain the University’s athletics director.
“I am extremely excited and humbled to be joining the Western New England University community as the head men’s basketball coach,” Tabb said. “If you look at the coaches and success that the program has enjoyed over the years, it is a great honor to try and carry on that tradition. I’d like to the thank Dr. Theulen, (Senior Associate Athletics Director) Joe Sassi, (Vice President of Student Affairs) Dean (Dr. Jeanne) Hart-Steffes, and the entire search committee for this opportunity.”
“We are extremely pleased and excited by the addition of Colin Tabb to our Athletic Family. Colin has an undeniable record of excellence in basketball and, because of his local knowledge of this area, will be a great advocate for our men’s basketball program, our Athletic Family, and our University,” added Theulen. “I thank Joe Sassi, David Proulx, and the rest of our selection committee for their excellent work. This search process was very competitive and the committee’s thoroughness was exemplary. Colin is the right person for this job and we look forward to a bright future for the men’s basketball program.
Tabb is no stranger to Western New England as his uncle, Gerry Martin, coached the Golden Bears football team for 14 years from 1991 to 2004 as the longest-tenured coach in that program’s history. Tabb’s father, John, graduated from Western New England.
Tabb comes to Western New England from the business world as he served as the president and owner of the popular BasketBull, LLC, since 2003. BasketBull is a basketball event-management company, an official licensee of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, that develops, promotes, organizes and operates grassroots events, camps, tournaments, clinics and skills academies throughout the Northeast. His responsibilities included managing staff of five employees on a daily basis and up to 75 weekend employees during an event; planning, generating and forecasting yearly budgets; implementing training for staffing on various aspects of event management, marketing/sales, scheduling, and customer service programs; meeting with city officials and political stakeholders about the economic impact that the company provides the region; and overseeing all compliance pertaining to the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
In addition, Tabb was the boys’ basketball coach this past season at Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Conn. The prestigious boarding school is a member of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council and Founders League. He was responsible for coordinating practice plans, scouting reports and game preparation for the team; supervising two team managers and assistant coach; recruiting; and representing the program at faculty-related functions.
In WNE, Tabb makes a return to Division III coaching at the college level. Previously, he served as an assistant on the men’s basketball coaching staffs at Brandeis University (2006-08) and Rhode Island College (2004) for four seasons. At Brandeis, he was involved with recruiting, scouting, player development, fundraising, travel, budgeting, strength & conditioning and campus events. He helped the Judges to their most successful period ever, including an overall team record of 57-24 in three seasons (43-13 in final two years) and back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances in 2007 (Second Round) and 2008 (Elite 8) after not making the national postseason in the previous 30 years. At RIC, he tended to many of the responsibilities that he also saw at Brandeis.
“Having played and coached for successful Division III teams in New England, I feel Western New England has all the makings to be a highly-successful basketball program. The University offers strong academic programs, a beautiful campus, impressive athletic facilities and tremendous support–all of which are vital to potential student-athletes,” stated Tabb. “I have full confidence that we can be a consistent winner here, and it’s a dream of mine to lead this program.”
Tabb starred for the Trinity Bantams based in Hartford, Conn., from 2000-02, leading the program to a 51-20 overall record, 2002 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship appearance and a pair of New England Small School Athletic Conference tournament runner-up finishes. His best season came during his 2001-02 senior campaign when he poured in a school record 619 points on the way to becoming the program’s first player selected to the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-America First Team. That season he also was named an Eastern College Athletic Conference All-Star for the second time, winning ECAC New England Player of the Year; the NESCAC Player of the Year; two-time first-team All-NESCAC; and Trinity College’s McCook Award recipient for most outstanding senior athlete. The two-time team captain left as the school’s sixth-leading all-time scorer with 1,367 points.
His latest honor is being inducted to the 2015 New England Basketball Hall of Fame class this August.
Before deciding to continue his education and basketball career at Trinity College, Tabb was a three-time Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic League all-state first team selection from 1995 to 1997 at Somers (Conn.) High School. He captained Somers during his junior and senior years.
After he graduated from Trinity College in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in political science, Tabb played two years of professional basketball for Dart Killester in Dublin, Ireland, a member of the Irish SuperLeague Division, and for Brandt-Hagen, in Hagen, Germany, a member of the German Division I Bundesliga, which is the nation’s premier division and considered one of the top leagues in Europe.
http://wnegoldenbears.com/news/2015/8/14/MBB_0814152415.aspx
