Philip Seymore was named the head coach of men's basketball in June 2013. He is the 10th head coach in the history of the program (records dating back to 1928-29 season).
Seymore brings a quarter-century of coaching experience to the Blue Devils' bench, mostly at the NCAA Division I level. Upon completion of his playing days at Canisius College in nearby Buffalo, he served as graduate assistant for his college coach, Nick Marcarchuk, for the 1983 season. That was followed by four seasons at Turner Carroll High School in Buffalo, including two seasons as the head coach. His 1989-90 team won the State Catholic School Class C title and the 1988-89 squad captured the Manhattan Cup Championship.
After leaving Turner Carroll in 1990, Seymore spent the next seven years as an assistant coach at Canisius -- five of them as an assistant coach under John Beilein, the current head coach at the University of Michigan. The Golden Griffins made three consecutive post-season appearances, including a run to the NIT Final Four in 1995 and the program’s first NCAA appearance in 51 years in 1996.
Seymore eventually followed Beilein to the University of Richmond, members of the NCAA D-I Colonial Athletic Association, where he was responsible for the team's recruiting and the offensive and defensive development of guards and wingmen. He also prepared scouting reports of the opposing teams for the Spiders from 1997 to 2000. The Spiders won a Colonial Athletic Association tournament title and won an NCAA Tournament game over then No. 13-ranked South Carolina.
"Phil was one of my first full-time assistant coaches," Beilein said. "I knew in a short time that I wanted him to be my assistant forever. His attention to detail is impressive, but what is equally impressive is how he looks at the big picture -- life, basketball and recruiting."Â
Seymore moved on to Providence College for the next 12 years. He was a men's assistant coach from 2000 to 2005 and helped the Friars, members of the NCAA Division I Big East Conference, to two NCAA Tournament appearances (2001 and 2004), and one NIT Tournament appearance (2003). The Friars were ranked as high as No. 12 nationally during those five years.
Starting with the 2005-06 season, Seymore became head coach of the Providence women's basketball team. He administered a program with an annual $500,000 budget. His 2009-10 team reached the quarterfinals of the WNIT Tournament, the team's first post-season apperance in 18 years, after which he was voted Rhode Island Coach of the Year.Â
He recruited top performers at all his stops. At Canisius, he brought in seven Metro Atlantic all-conference players, two players of the year, three members of the MAAC all-rookie team, one rookie of the year, and four members of the all-academic team. While at Richmond, his recruiting accolades consisted of one Colonial Athletic Association player of the year, one member of the all-rookie team, three All-CAA players, one defensive player of the year, and one student-athlete of the year. His Providence men's recruits garnered four Big East all-conference awards, one first team All-American, one national defensive player of the year, one member of the all-rookie team, and two NBA draft picks. Providence women included two All Big East and three Big East all-rookie winners.
Immediately prior to coming to Fredonia State, he served as The College of New Rochelle's Associate Director of Athletics and The Wellness Center. He was responsible for coordinating New Rochelle’s recruiting efforts and was tasked with mentoring the departments coaching staff, and with generating additional revenue for The Wellness Center -- which received a LEED Silver rating certified by the U.S. Green Building Council  -- via programs, camps and rentals.
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Seymore also had a distinguished playing career at Canisius. He earned all-conference and all-region honors his senior season, after which he was invited to participate the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament as one of the top 64 seniors in the country. He was then drafted by the New York Knicks in the seventh round (144th overall) in the 1982 NBA Draft. He later played professionally with the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association, where his coach was the legendary Phil Jackson. He was inducted into the Canisius College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996 and was voted to Canisius’ All-Century Team in 2004.
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The Brooklyn, N.Y. native earned a Bachelor of Science degree in sociology with a minor in physical education from Canisius in 1988. He and his wife, Alicia, have one daughter, Amani.
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 |
Men's Basketball
Coaches Career |
|
Â
| Head Coach |
| Name |
Phil Seymore |
| Alma Mater |
Canisius, 1989 |
|
| Career Breakdown |
| School |
Years |
Record |
W/L Pct |
| Fredonia |
4 |
25-73 |
.255 |
| Career |
4 |
25-73 |
.255 |
|
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|
Women's Basketball
Coaches Career |
|
Â
| Head Coach |
| Name |
Phil Seymore |
| Alma Mater |
Canisius, 1989 |
|
| Career Breakdown |
| School |
Years |
Record |
W/L Pct |
| Providence |
7 |
88-120 |
.423 |
| Career |
7 |
88-120 |
.423 |
|
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