Patrick J. Flannery (2011) - Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame

Patrick J. Flannery

Induction:
2011
Class:
1980

Pat Flannery might be best-known for coaching the most successful team in Bucknell men's basketball history in 2005-06, but he was also a terrific point guard on some very good teams for Hall-of-Fame coach Charlie Woollum. He captained the 1979-80 Bison team that finished 20-7 and ushered in an era of unprecedented success at Bucknell. Flannery is the only player ever to lead the Bison in assists for four straight years, and he finished his career with a total of 505 assists, which was a school record at the time. He also tallied 779 career points and boasted a career free-throw percentage of .787. Bucknell posted a 38-16 record over Flannery's final two seasons, and he captained the team each of those years. Flannery also played on the baseball team at Bucknell.

In 1994-95, Flannery was selected to replace Woollum as head coach at his alma mater. Over the next 14 seasons he would go on to post 234 wins on the Bucknell sideline, second-most behind only Woollum's 318. In 2004-05, Flannery's team capped off a 24-win season with a first-round upset of national power Kansas in the NCAA Tournament. It was the first NCAA win for any Bucknell or Patriot League team. A year later, the Bison broke the school record with 27 wins, earned a national top-25 ranking for the first time in program history, and as a No. 9 seed beat Arkansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

During the three-year span from 2004-05 through 2006-07, Flannery led the Bison to a 73-22 overall record, including wins over national powers such as Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Kansas, Arkansas, DePaul and Xavier. The team went 38-4 in Patriot League play, the best three-year stretch in conference history, and 36-4 at home. Just as impressive, the program had a 100 percent graduation rate during that span.

Flannery retired after the 2007-08 season with a final career record of 329-221 (.598) overall and 234-178 (.568) at Bucknell. He earned his 300th career victory at Xavier on Dec. 20, 2006.

Following his coaching career, Flannery continued to support his alma mater in a fundraising capacity in the Office of University Advancement.