Head Coach James Cosgrove is now in his eighth season at the helm of the Adelphi University men's basketball program and is in his 13th year as a head coach, his career record stands at 217-125.
The 2008-09 season saw a 20-9 overall record, 14-5 in conference action, which was highlighted by winning eight of their last ten games. Entering post season play, they earned the number three seed in the ECC Tournament and advanced to the semi finals before falling to Bridgeport. Cosgrove's defense was recognized as the best in Division II in field goal percentage defense, holding their opponents to 37.6 percent from the field. Additionally, they ranked fourth in scoring defense, holding the opposition to just 58.9 points per game.
Adelphi ended the 2007-08 basketball campaign 20-10 overall record and 14-6 in the ECC. Coming off a five game winning streak to cap the regular season, the Panthers won the first two games of the ECC tournament before falling to C.W. Post in the final.
Adelphi entered the 2006-07 East Coast Conference (ECC) tournament as the fourth seed and captured a second straight tournament title. The tournament title secured Adelphi's fourth trip to the NCAA Northeast Regional in five seasons under Cosgrove's control.
The Panthers captured both the 2005-06 ECC regular season and tournament title for the first time in five years. Cosgrove guided the Panthers to a 27-5 overall record and 19-1 ECC mark, earning the fifth seed in the NCAA Northeast Regional. There he collected his first Division II NCAA tournament win with a 90-86 win over fourth seeded Bentley.
Cosgrove was honored as the NIT/MET Writers Division II Coach of the Year along with Kimani Blaize and Aaron Cummings who each recieved All-MET honors.
In 2004-05, Cosgrove steered the men's program back to the top of the ECC heap. Adelphi finished the regular season with a conference regular season crown, a 21-3 ECC mark and a number one seed in the conference tournament. The Panthers also secured a trip to the NCAA Division II Northeast Regional and a number three seed. For his efforts Cosgrove was named ECC Coach of the Year and the Metropolitan Writers Association Division II Co-Coach of The Year.
In 2003-04 Cosgrove guided Adelphi to a 15-13 overall record and a sixth seed in the ECC Conference Tournament despite losing eight players from the previous season, including first-team All-Conference selection and All-MET player of the year Wayne Nelson. Cosgrove brought in seven players and used a mix of experience and youth to guide the team to a 13-11 conference mark.
In the 2002-03 campaign, Cosgrove led the Panthers to an ECC Tournament championships and a NCAA appearance. Cosgrove took over a successful Adelphi program, which had lost eight players to graduation, and guided the Panthers to its eighth straight 20+ season, with a 22-9 overall record. With just two returning starters, Cosgrove's 2002-03 squad upset top-seed C.W. Post for the ECC Championship, earning a NCAA tournament berth.
Selected by the conference to coach the ECC seniors in the ECC/CIAA All-Star Challenge in April 2003, he led the team to an upset victory over highly touted CIAA conference.
Cosgrove was named the 11th head coach in Adelphi history on April 5, 2002. Prior to that, he spent the last five years as head basketball coach at Endicott College in Beverly, Mass. During the last four years of his tenure at Endicott, Cosgrove accumulated a 68-39 record.
In his second full season at Endicott, Cosgrove led his team to a 17-9 record and a regular season Great Northeast Atlantic Conference (GNAC) championship. For his efforts, he was named the 1998-99 GNAC Coach of the Year. The 1999-00 squad went 18-10, setting a school record for most wins in a season, and would go on to win the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament in the school's first year in the league. The 1999-00 team would earn another first, earning a bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Prior to his head coach appointment at Endicott, Cosgrove served as the full-time assistant coach at his alma mater, St. Anselm College, from 1993-97. During that time, St. Anselm went 89-29 and made three straight NCAA Tournament appearances as well as two conference championships.
His other coaching experiences were at St. Thomas More-Oakdale, Conn.(1992-93), University of Hartford (1988-92) and St. Anselm (1987-88).
Cosgrove, who graduated from St. Anslem's in 1987, was a two-time All-Northeast 10 selection and Northeast-10 Rookie of the Year (1984). Serving as team captain from 1985-87, he led St. Anselm to a 25-5 record and a No. 6 national ranking in the Division II Final Poll in 1987. He held the school's all-time record in assists and steals and was inducted into the St. Anselm College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993.
In 2007 Cosgrove was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame for his accomplishments as a player at St. Thomas More High School and St. Anselm College.
Cosgrove earned his Master's in Teaching in 1995 from Sacred Heart University.
Cosgrove has a son, Casey, who is a member of the men's basketball team at Adelphi and a daughter Maggie, who is a member of the women's basketball team at Sacred Heart. He also has a daughter, Callie with his wife, Christine.
