Bucknell University Athletics
Pat Flannery '80 to Be Inducted into Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame
9/18/2009 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sept. 18, 2009
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Pat Flannery, a 1980 Bucknell graduate and standout player and coach with the Bison men's basketball program, will be formally inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame next month. The induction ceremony for Flannery and 12 other outstanding sports figures from across the state will be held at 6 p.m. on Oct. 24 at the Crowne Plaza Reading Hotel in Wyomissing.
Flannery was Bucknell's head men's basketball coach for 14 years (1994-2008), and he compiled a record of 234-178. That made him the second-winningest coach in program history, trailing only his former mentor Charlie Woollum. Flannery logged a 125-59 record in Patriot League games, and he retired following the 2007-08 season as the conference's all-time wins leader.
He will be best remembered for leading his 2004-05 and 2005-06 teams to Patriot League championships, and then on to first-round victories in the NCAA Tournament. In 2005, the Bison upset third-seeded Kansas in the first round, marking the first-ever NCAA Tournament win for a Bucknell or Patriot League team. A year later, they repeated the feat, going into the tournament as a No. 9 seed and defeating Arkansas in the first round. That 2005-06 squad won a school-record 27 games and became the first Bucknell men's basketball team to earn a national ranking.
Flannery won the 2006 Hugh Durham Award as the mid-major coach of the year, and he was the Patriot League Coach of the Year in 1995, 1997 and 2006.
Prior to returning to his alma mater, Flannery had tremendous success in five years as head coach at Lebanon Valley. He led the Dutchmen to their first-ever Division III national championship in 1994. The title game win capped a 28-4 season, and during his tenure at Lebanon Valley, Flannery compiled an overall record of 95-44 and earned the 1994 Division III Coach-of-the-Year Award from the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
A native of Pottsville, Flannery was actually the first recruit signed by Woollum in his debut year in 1976. It was indeed fitting, then, that when Woollum left Bucknell in April 1994 to return to his alma mater, William and Mary, after a marvelous 19-year career, Flannery was selected as his successor.
As a player, Flannery captained the 1979-80 Bison team that finished 20-7 and ushered in an era of unprecedented success at Bucknell. Flannery remains 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 and still ranks third in Bucknell history. 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, who continues to work at Bucknell in a fundraising capacity, will be inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame alongside former New York Giants vice president and general manager Ernie Accorsi, George Azar (football player/coach), Gene Carpenter (football coach/athletic director), Kathie Daley (lacrosse player), the late Harry F. DeFrank Sr. (basketball player/coach), Bruce Gossett (football player), Andrew Loechner (Olympic softball player), William B. Manlove, Jr. (football player/coach), William J. Marshall (ice hockey player), Greg Manning (basketball player), the late Bill Reynolds (football player) and Roy Snyder (swimming coach).
This year's event is hosted by the Berks County Chapter. Tickets may be purchased for $45.00 as an individual or group basis at www.pashof.org. A printable ticket application can be found HERE.
