When Pat Chambers was hired to coach the Boston University men’s basketball team, he vowed he would turn the struggling team around quickly. Many expected Chambers to lead the Terriers to a .500 winning percentage, but within two seasons of being hired, Chambers instead led BU to their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2002. Now, after two of the most successful seasons in BU basketball history, it appears Chambers is heading to another underperforming program.
Multiple sources are reporting the Penn State Nittany Lions have hired Chambers as their next head coach. The news comes less than a month after Chamber’s reportedly signed an extension with Boston University through 2016.
“Penn State basketball begins a new era today,” Penn State athletic director Tim Curley said in a statement, “and Patrick Chambers ushers in that era with proven success, an appreciation of and commitment to Penn State ideals, and the energy and enthusiasm required to compete at the highest level.”
After a successful career as an assistant coach at Villanova, Chambers was hired by BU in 2009 to take over for a Terriers team that had struggled to stay above .500 in the previous four seasons. Led by guard John Holland, the Terriers reached the America East championship game in 2010, only to be knocked out by Vermont. Then, this past season, the Terriers defeated Stony Brook to reach their first tournament in nearly 10 years.
Penn State head coach Ed DeChellis abruptly left Penn State this offseason to take a head coaching job at Navy, leaving a the position vacant. Penn State made their first tournament since 2001 this past season.
The hiring will be a bit of a homecoming for Chambers, who played basketball at Philadelphia University before coaching at Episcopal Academy.
