Fran McCaffery’s official homecoming began on Thursday morning after he was named as the head coach at Penn, his alma mater.

McCaffery, 65, played for the Quakers from 1979-82 and served as an assistant coach for the program for one season after graduating from Penn’s Wharton School.

“I am excited and honored to return to my alma mater and the city of Philadelphia to lead the Penn men’s basketball program,” McCaffery said. “It is a program that I have fond memories of from my previous time there as a student-athlete and assistant coach. My vision is to return Penn to prominence in the Ivy League and beyond and bring an exciting style of play to The Palestra. … I relish the challenge and look forward to getting started.”

McCaffery spent the past 15 seasons at Iowa and is the winningest coach in the history of that program, with 297 wins. He was dismissed on March 14 after the Hawkeyes were eliminated in the second round of the Big Ten tournament.

McCaffery owns a 548-384 overall head coaching record with Lehigh (1985-88), UNC Greensboro (1999-2005), Siena (2005-10) and Iowa (2010-25).

“I am thrilled to bring Fran back to Penn and Philadelphia as our next head men’s basketball coach,” athletic director Alanna Wren said. “Fran has had success at every level of Division I and is passionate about restoring our program to glory. His energy and enthusiasm for leading young men was apparent throughout the process and he has proven to be committed to player development and relationship-building with his student-athletes throughout his storied career.”

McCaffery takes over for Steve Donahue, who was fired by Penn on March 10 after going 8-19 in 2024-25. Donahue owned a 131-130 record during his nine seasons with the Quakers.

–Field Level Media