Patrick Joseph Skerry (born January 21, 1970) is the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

of the Towson University Tigers men's basketball team.

Biography

Playing career

Skerry played collegiate basketball at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

where he set the school record for career assists (634) and single-season assists (198).

Coaching career

After graduation, Skerry joined his alma mater's coaching staff, where he spent three seasons before moving on to

Stonehill College Stonehill College is a private Catholic college in Easton, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1948 by the Congregation of Holy Cross and is located on the original estate of Frederick Lothrop Ames Jr., with 29 buildings that compl ...

for the 1995–96 season. A year later he took his first head coaching job at

Curry College Curry College is a private college in Milton, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded as the School of Elocution and Expression by Anna Baright in 1879. In 1885, it was taken over and renamed by Samuel Silas Curry. History Curry College ...

at the age of 26. In two seasons at the helm of the Colonials, Skerry compiled a 24–25 record. In 1998, Skerry jumped to

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

as an assistant coach for two seasons, before moving on to William & Mary (2000–03),

College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th-oldest institution of higher lea ...

(2003–05),

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of Rhode Island. The univer ...

(2005–08),

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Roman Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, it offers 47 undergraduate Academic ...

(2008–10), and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

(2010–11) before accepting the head coaching job at Towson, replacing Pat Kennedy. Skerry's first season in charge of the Tigers saw the team go 1–31, with the lone win coming on January 28, 2012, against UNC-Wilmington, snapping the team's NCAA record 41-game losing streak. One year later, Towson went 18–13, finishing second in the

Colonial Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

completing the biggest single season improvement in NCAA basketball history. Despite the high finish, the Tigers were ineligible for the CAA Tournament and NCAA Tournament due to low APR scores that were earned under the previous coach, Pat Kennedy. Skerry was named CAA Coach of the Year at the end of the season. The Tigers under Coach Skerry won the CAA Regular Season Championship in 2022 after going 15–3 in conference play and posting a 25–9 overall record. Skerry earned another Regular Season Championship in 2025, after going 16–2 in conference and 19–10 overall, leading to his second CAA Coach of the Year selection.

Head coaching record

College

Awards

* 2x CAA Coach of the Year (2012–13, 2024–25) *

Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award The Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award is an award given annually to the nation's men's head basketball coach in NCAA Division I competition who also exhibits strong moral character. The award was established in 2008 and is named for head coach Sk ...

(2023)

References