The future of SNHU men’s basketball is no longer in Stan Spirou’s hands. Since Spirou announced his retirement in February, the search for a new head coach launched, but on Tuesday June 5th, that search came to an end, as SNHU athletic director Anthony Fallacaro announced Jack Perri will fill the position.
Perri is just the sixth coach of men’s basketball in its program’s history. He follows Spirou, who won 640 games over 33 seasons with SNHU, and will begin coaching duties later this month.
“I am extremely excited to announce Jack Perri as the new head men’s basketball coach at Southern New Hampshire University,” Fallacaro said in a news release. “You do not replace a coaching icon like Stan Spirou, and the impact he has had on this University and basketball program, but rather hope the next head coach values that success and will continue it in order to advance that tradition in his own way. That takes a special person with tremendous vision and experience in building a basketball program the students, community and alumni can be proud of, and I think we found all of that and more in Coach Perri.”
Perri brings 20 years of coaching experience across all three NCAA divisions to SNHU. He had great success as a Division I head coach and has a strong familiarity with the Northeast-10 Conference, as both a coach and a student athlete, having had played for and coached at Bentley University.
“I am thrilled to be named the next head men’s basketball coach at Southern New Hampshire University,” Perri said. “I want to thank Anthony Fallacaro and the search committee for providing me the opportunity to lead this storied program. As a former student-athlete and coach in the NE10, I have always had the utmost respect for Stan Spirou and the program he built here. I am truly honored to be chosen to succeed him. I will give all that I have in order to create a positive environment built with great enthusiasm, a program rooted in competitiveness and commitment to being the best we can be, both on and off the court.”
Perri made his foray into coaching when he spent six years as the top assistant coach at his alma mater, Bentley University. The Falcons went 106-69 (.606) with Perri on the staff, never turning in a season where they were fewer than four games above .500, while capturing the 2002 Northeast-10 Championship and earning a berth into the NCAA Tournament. Perri served as the recruiting coordinator with the Falcons and helped build Bentley teams that climbed to No. 1 in the nation in 2004-05 (30-6) and No. 2 in 2006-07 (32-1).
“Coach Perri understands the competitive nature of the Northeast 10 Conference from his experience as a player and a coach in this league,” Fallacaro said. “I think, more importantly though, his background as a recruiting coordinator and incredible success as a head coach made it clear that Jack was the right coach for this storied program.”
Perri arrives at Southern New Hampshire having spent one year as an assistant coach for Boston University and 12 years at Division I school LIU Brooklyn, including the final five seasons as head coach. While at the helm, Perri and the Blackbirds won 77 games and earned four Northeast conference tournament berths. In his last season in 2016-17, Perri produced a record of 20-12 and finished second in the league. Perri impressed in his first season at LIU, going 20-14, en route to guiding the Blackbirds to their third straight NEC title and appearance in the NCAA Tournament. For his efforts, Perri became the second winner of the Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year Award, which is presented annually to the top first-year coach in Division I college basketball.
In 14 seasons as an assistant coach, Perri’s teams went a combined 240-181 (.570), winning three conference championships and making three NCAA Tournament appearances. In his last two years as the associate head coach at LIU Brooklyn, the team went a combined 52-15, capturing the first two of an unprecedented three straight NEC Championships and three consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament.
“Coach Perri has won conference championships, advanced to NCAA Tournaments and received Coach of the Year honors at the Division I and III levels, including being named the Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year.” Fallacaro said. “This success came from a solid level of integrity and strong commitment to doing things the right way. When the season is over, regardless of wins and losses, it is paramount that we did everything with the upmost integrity. He is someone that understands the importance of building a culture to support the success of the student-athletes in the classroom and on the court.”
Before his stretch at LIU Brooklyn, Perri was the head coach at Division III Rhode Island College during the 2004-05 season, leading the Anchormen to a 20-9 record, a share of the Little East Conference Regular-Season Championship and a spot in the conference final, and was named the league’s Coach of the Year.
A native of Manalapan, N.J., Perri and his wife, Julie, are the proud parents of three children, Sean Patrick, Jackson Richard and Charlotte Taylor.
