Head Coach Pat Skerry

When Pat Skerry was announced as the 13th men’s basketball head coach at Towson University on April 5, 2011, he took over a program that had endured 15-straight losing seasons. The gritty Medford, Massachusetts native has revitalized the Towson men's basketball program, leading the Tigers to consistent success in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). In addition, under Skerry's leadership, Towson has the highest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) in the CAA.

Towson enters the 2022-23 season having won at least 18 games in seven seasons in the last 10 years.

Skerry led Towson to the program's first-ever CAA regular season title and berth into the National Invitation Tournament during the 2021-22 season. The Tigers finished 25-9 and 15-3 in the CAA, with three players earned all-league honors including Cam Holden and Nicolas Timberlake on the First Team. It was the winningest Division I and CAA season in program history. Skerry was named a finalist for the 2022 Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award and 2022 Hugh Durham Award.

In summer 2021, Skerry was selected as a court coach for the USA Men's U19 World Cup Team, being one of three coaches across the country selected for this role. He assisted the U19 coaching staff with on-court drills and scrimmages during the camp sessions on the campus of TCU. That team went on to win the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup in July.

The Tigers have participated in three postseason tournaments since the 2013-14 campaign. In 2015-16 and 2016-17, Towson finished with at least 20 wins the second time in school history that Towson has won 20 games in consecutive seasons. Towson's 25-win year in the 2013-14 campaign was the highest amount of victories in a season in Division I and most since 1977-78.

During the 2020-21 campaign, Towson placed Charles Thompson on the CAA All-Defensive Team, the third straight year the All-Defensive Team has had a Tiger representative, plus saw Zane Martin, who landed on the CAA All-Conference Second Team, become the 28th Tiger to earn over 1,000 points. Towson landed in the top-3 in rebounding margin in the CAA for the seventh straight season.

The Tigers enjoyed a strong 2019-20 campaign that resulted in 19 victories and a third-place finish in the CAA for the third time in five years. The Tigers won a program record seven CAA road games and had a seven-game winning streak during the month of January. Brian Fobbs and Allen Betrand finished in the top-11 in the CAA in scoring and earned All-CAA Second Team and Third Team respectively while Nicolas Timberlake was the CAA Sixth Man of the Year. In addition, Dennis Tunstall made the CAA All-Defensive Team plus Jason Gibson was on the CAA All-Rookie Team.

During the 2017-18 season, Towson won the Florida Gulf Coast Showcase and the Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic. In addition, Towson had a 10-game winning streak, which was tied for the third best in program history. The Tigers started the season 10-1, which was the best in Towson’s Division I era, and received votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the second time in program history. The Tigers also spent six weeks in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll peaking at No. 4 on Dec. 19, 2017.

Skerry, who won his 100th career game as Towson’s head coach on Nov. 21 following a win over Penn, was the recipient of the 2017 Gene Bartow award, which recognizes outstanding achievement and contributions to the game.

After winning just one game during his first season, Skerry led the Tigers to an 18-13 record in 2012-13. Not only was it the first winning season since 1995-96, it was also the largest single-season turnaround in NCAA Division I history. The achievement did not go unrecognized by his peers as Skerry was selected as the CAA Coach of the Year. He became the first coach to receive that honor since Terry Truax earned back-to-back Big South Conference Coach of the Year honors in 1992-93 and 1993-94.

The success continued during the 2013-14 season as the Tigers won a Division I record 25 games. This includes winning their first two postseason games as a Division I program in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

The 2013-14 season saw the Tigers end the year ranked 84th in the RPI, marking the first time Towson finished the season in the Top 100. The Tigers also received their first votes in the national polls when they were receiving votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

The successful season was made even more special with the opening of SECU Arena. The Tigers opened the building with a 72-45 victory over Navy on Nov. 8 in front an arena-record crowd of 4,262. Less than one week later, Towson defeated Temple, 75-69, on their new home floor. The Tigers finished their first season in SECU Arena with a 15-1 record.

Skerry has done an outstanding job of mixing in transfers to his recruiting classes. In his first season, Skerry landed Georgetown transfer Jerrelle Benimon. In his two seasons at Towson, Benimon led the conference in scoring and rebounding. He was twice named the CAA Player of the Year, while also earning All-America honors following his junior season. Skerry’s first recruiting class at Towson was ranked as the best in the CAA and sixth among all non-BCS schools, according to CBS Sports.

Hard work is not just limited to the court under Skerry. During the 2014-15 academic year, the men’s basketball team had five players with at least a 3.0 GPA during the fall semester, and six players with a 3.0 during the spring semester. Skerry has a perfect graduation rate since he became Towson’s head coach. The Tigers had a perfect APR multi-year score of 1,000 following the 2016-17 season.

Skerry has used his platform as a head coach and teamed up with Tom Herrion to start Autism Awareness in college basketball. What started as two guys with an idea has turned into a national event where hundreds of coaches wear the prominent blue puzzle piece pin. The effort put forth by both Skerry and Herrion were recognized as the duo was honored with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Guardians of the Game Service Award.

Under Skerry, the Tigers have had at least one player on the all-academic team, including having two players following the 2012-13 and 2014-15 seasons. Timajh Parker-Rivera became a three-time honoree after earning a spot in the 2015-16 season. Arnaud William Adala Moto was named to the All-Academic team following the 2016-17 year. Brian Fobbs (Second Team) and Dennis Tunstall (All-Defensive Team) earned All-CAA honors following the 2018-19 season.

Skerry took over at Towson after spending one season as an assistant coach at Pittsburgh. In his lone season, he helped the Panthers capture the BIG EAST regular season championship with a 28-6 record.

During his tenure at Pitt, he once again helped refill the talent pool for the Panthers as they added one of the Top 15 recruiting classes in the country according to ESPN.com, including two of the Top 60 incoming players.

Before joining the staff at Pitt, Skerry spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Providence.

In 2008-09, Providence advanced to the NIT with a 19-14 overall record and 10-8 BIG EAST mark. Skerry assisted with the Friars’ 2009 recruiting class, which was ranked No. 35 in the nation by Hoop Scoop.

Prior to his time with the Friars, Skerry spent three years as an assistant coach at the Rhode Island. During his time at URI, Skerry gained national recognition and was named one of the top assistant coaches in the country in 2007 by Hoop Scoop. In 2008, Fox Sports.com went on to name Skerry the top mid-major assistant in the nation.

His recruiting classes at Rhode Island also captured the nation’s attention as his 2006 class was rated No. 24 in the nation by Hoop Scoop along with a No. 61 ranking for the Rams’ 2007 group.

Skerry served as an assistant for two seasons at the College of Charleston. While at Charleston, the Cougars posted a combined 38-19 record. In addition, Skerry spent five years with league teams William & Mary (2000-03) and Northeastern University (1998-2000).

In 1996, Skerry became the second-youngest head coach in the nation at the age of 26 when he was selected to guide the Curry basketball program. During his two-year stop with the Colonels, he led Curry to its first winning season in five years.

He also spent one year as an assistant at Stonehill and three seasons as an assistant at Tufts. In his two seasons, he helped direct the Jumbos to two ECAC Tournaments along with the school's first NCAA Division III Tournament berth in 1995.

Skerry played collegiately at Tufts from 1989-92 where he was a two-time team captain and garnered All-New England honors. As a point guard, he recorded a school-record 650 assists during his career - a mark that still ranks as the 17th best in NCAA Division III history. His 198 assists in 1990-91 is a Tufts single-season record. He also is fifth on the school's career steals list with 95.

Skerry earned both of his collegiate degrees from Tufts, earning his bachelor's degree in psychology in 1992 and his Master's Degree in education in 1995.

Pat and his wife, Kristen, have two sons, Ryan and Owen.