Jeff Rafferty will begin his third year on head coach Monté Ross' men's basketball staff at the University of Delaware in 2009-10.
Rafferty, who joined the staff in the spring of 2007 after two years as an assistant to Bill Herrion at the University of New Hampshire, played a big part in Delaware's improvement to 14-17 in 2007-08 as the Hens went 9-9 in league place, placed seventh in the Colonial Athletic Association regular season standings, and earned a first round CAA Tournament win over Drexel.
Rafferty served as Delaware's head coach in the Blue Hens' 70-63 win over Towson on December 3 in UD's conference opener. In May, 2008 he was named to the Top 10 Mid-Major Assistant Coaches list by FOXSports.com.
Delaware went 13-19 during the 2008-09 season, posting victories over VCU and George Mason.
While at New Hampshire, the Wildcats went 12-17 overall and 8-8 in the America East during Rafferty’s first year in Durham in 2005-06, and followed with a 10-20 mark including a 6-10 conference record in 2006-07.
Prior to arriving at New Hampshire, Rafferty spent four seasons as the top assistant coach at UMass-Lowell. The River Hawks went 94-30 in Rafferty’s four seasons in Lowell, capturing both the Northeast-10 Conference regular season and tournament championships in 2003 and 2004 while making back-to-back trips to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.
Rafferty spent the 2000-01 season at Union College, and was an assistant coach at Division III Springfield College for two seasons from 1998-2000. While at Springfield, Rafferty helped his alma mater go 40-17 including a 16-8 mark in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletics Conference (NEWMAC) while earning his master’s degree in sports management. During Rafferty’s second season Springfield went 21-9, captured the NEWMAC Tournament championship, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
Rafferty, who graduated from Springfield in 1997, served one season as an assistant coach at Texas-Pan American in 1997-98 and began his career by serving an internship with the NBA’s Boston Celtics.
“ I think with Jeff’s experience he will be able to help with the skill development of our players, and his connections will help our recruiting efforts,” Ross said. “Jeff is a great addition to our staff.”
Rafferty and his wife, Whitney, have two sons Patrick and Brendan, and a daughter, Kaitlyn.
Assistant Coach Jeff Rafferty