Former UConn men’s basketball coach Jim Calhoun could come out of retirement to coach Division III University of St. Joseph, reports the Hartford Courant.
“He would not say where, but multiple sources said he has had serious discussions with the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford about its new men’s basketball program and has been offered the job,” says the Courant’s Dom Amore.
It would certainly be surprising to see Calhoun, a Hall of Fame coach with three national championships on his resume, take a Division III job. The 75-year old retired in 2012, but this seems to be serious.
Both Calhoun and Rhona Free, the president of St. Joseph, went on the record to the Courant and did nothing to dispel the report.
“While we certainly can’t think of a better person to inaugurate the University of St. Joseph’s first-ever men’s basketball team, we have nothing to announce,” said Free.
That sounds less like a denial and more like the two sides are working on a contract.
As for Calhoun, he said, “I’ve got a couple of other things in the works, one involving basketball, which I’m intrigued by. It’s coaching.”
At 75 and already enshrined in Springfield, Calhoun has nothing left to prove. This would, presumably, be a labor of love. However, it’s hard to imagine there aren’t better programs with more pedigree, in Division I, II, or III, that wouldn’t give anything for Jim Calhoun to patrol their sidelines. Presumably, St. Joseph’s proximity to UConn — the school is in West Hartford — is appealing to Calhoun.
The Courant reports that a decision could be made within a week. This would be a shock if it were to come to fruition and, no doubt, instantly put University of St. Joseph on the Division III basketball map.