Ogrodnik Retires as Trinity College Men's Basketball Coach After 27 Seasons
Hartford, Conn., October 10, 2008 - Stanley Ogrodnik (Tolland, Conn.), the most successful coach in Trinity College basketball history, has announced his retirement, effective immediately, as head coach of the Bantams' men's basketball team. As head coach for 27 seasons, Ogrodnik compiled a 478-186 record that gives him one of the top 30 winning percentages (.720) among NCAA Division III coaches. His remarkable tenure includes seven NCAA Tournament bids (including last season), four ECAC Division III New England titles, and eight consecutive appearances in the NESCAC Championship Tournament. Last season, the team finished with a 21-7 overall record, won the league title, and hosted an NCAA Tournament game. Sean Tabb (Somers, Conn.), a valued assistant to Ogrodnik the last eight years, has been elevated to the head coaching position on an interim basis for the 2008-09 season.
"I have never specifically prepared myself for this day, but I've always said that if I felt in my heart that couldn't give absolutely 100 percent, then I would not do it any more," Ogrodnik states. "I am just as competitive now as I always was and I will definitely miss the games and, especially, the practices. I have, however, realized that I am not as excited about the day-to-day responsibilities of the job as the program deserves me to be."
In 1994-95, Ogrodnik guided his team to the NCAA Division III Final Four. That season, the Bantams finished 24-5, tying a school record for victories in a season set earlier by the Ogrodnik-coached 1983-84 team. In 1998-99, the Bantams finished 22-4 and reached the Elite Eight for the second time in College history. Trinity has 18 winning seasons in the last 20 years. His 478 victories are the most of any coach in the history of Trinity athletics in any sport and his winning percentage is the best for any Trinity coach of an NCAA men's sport with over career 50 wins in the College's history.
"I am privileged to have coached the young men that have played here at Trinity the last 27 years," said Ogrodnik. "The most satisfying part lately has not been the games we've won, but seeing the incredible things they have done with their lives throughout the years. I never dreamed that coaching basketball here would have allowed me to develop so many relationships that continue to mean so much to me year after year."
Ogrodnik joined the Trinity staff as an assistant in 1979 after nine very successful years as the head coach of East Catholic High School in Manchester, Conn., where he guided Eagle teams to a 162-49 record, two Class L state championships, three state runners-up finishes, and five conference championships. A member of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame, Ogrodnik served as an assistant with the British National Team in the 1988 Olympic Games.
"I accept Stan's decision with regret, but with the utmost respect and admiration for his accomplishments as a coach and the positive influence he has had on so many of Trinity's student-athletes," states Trinity Director of Athletics Richard Hazelton. "He leaves our program in tremendous shape as the reigning league champions, and in the capable hands of Sean Tabb."
"Coach Ogrodnik has been a Trinity institution for decades, beloved and respected by hundreds of his players, their families, and by the rest of us who have cheered our basketball teams over the years," said Trinity President James F. Jones, Jr. "I am gratified that he will be around for the rest of this academic year. We intend to keep him and his family a part of the Trinity family for years to come."
