Sports

Hofstra names Cassara to replace Welsh as coach

Mo Cassara didn’t have a job three weeks ago. The veteran assistant at Boston College was relieved of his duties when head coach Al Skinner and the Eagles decided to part ways.

But as everyone in the metropolitan area can attest — at least those who have witnessed the vicious coaching carousel that has spun for five weeks — things change quickly in this business. Just ask Cassara.

Hofstra athletic director Jack Hayes, who accepted Tim Welsh’s resignation Monday, moved quickly to find his replacement, promoting Cassara today to head coach. Cassara was brought in by Welsh last month as an assistant.

Welsh was then arrested Friday in Long Island on a DWI charge, spent the night in jail, and was suspended by the university before resigning.

“This is really an unbelievable opportunity that presented itself out of some really difficult circumstances, and now we’re moving forward,” Cassara said.

Cassara spent four seasons at Boston College, after a two-year stint as head coach at Division III Clark University in Massachusetts. In 2003-04, Cassara was an assistant at Dayton. The Flyers were 24-9 that season, and advanced to the NCAA tournament.

Cassara is a native of Canton, N.Y. He inherits a team with plenty of upside, one that went 19-15 and advanced to the second round of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. The Pride will return guard Charles Jenkins, who was named the league’s Player of the Year.

“We have had the opportunity to see Mo’s dynamic leadership, energy and enthusiasm in action,” Hofstra president Stuart Rabinowitz said in a statement. “His experience with college basketball, his passion for the game, and his desire to work with student-athletes in all facets of their development will serve our basketball team well and help take our program to the next level of excellence.”

With AP