LaSalle Basketball Will Thrive Under New AD Bill Bradshaw

Buried deep in the middle of the transactions section of the newspaper the other day was this nugget under colleges: “LaSalle names Bill Bradshaw interim athletic director.”

It could be just the news LaSalle fans needed to hear to get the school’s signature program, men’s basketball, on the right track. If the name Bradshaw sounds familiar, it should, because Bradshaw was a former LaSalle athletic director for nine years, followed by 16 years at DePaul in Chicago and 11 years at Temple in Philadelphia, four miles south of LaSalle’s campus. All three schools made frequent appearances in the NCAA basketball tournament during Bradshaw’s tenure.

It was not a coincidence as Bradshaw hired some good coaches and inherited at least one legend in Temple’s John Chaney. Those relationships led him to understand the qualities that made good coaches and how to make good hires.

One of them was former Temple football coach Al Golden, who Bradshaw interviewed when Golden was the defensive coordinator at Virginia. Bradshaw had a yellow legal pad with a list of qualities he wanted in a head coach, and with each Golden answer, he checked the yes box next to those qualities. On the ride home to Philadelphia, he handed the legal pad to a passenger and wrote under the list: “This is our guy.” It was underlined twice with multiple exclamation points.

Golden turned Temple from the worst football program in America into a respected one. After the legendary Chaney led Temple to five-straight NITs, Bradshaw hired Penn legend Fran Dunphy to replace him. Dunphy then turned those five-straight NITs into six NCAA appearances in his first seven years. Bradshaw also hired Golden’s successor, Steve Addazio (pictured with Bradshaw above), who led the team to its first bowl win in 32 years, and current head coach Matt Rhule.

At every place he’s been, Bradshaw has had the magic touch. It will take some heavy lifting to get all of the boxes in the right places, but Bradshaw has been through this all before so he knows where to put them.