Gerry McNamara spent 14 seasons as an assistant coach and one season as associate head coach at Syracuse before coaching at Siena University for the last two seasons. (Photo by Amy Manley)
Gerry McNamara ’06 Is ‘Here to Win. It’s Who I Am.’
When Gerry McNamara ’06 walked into the Dome the first time as a highly touted basketball recruit, he knew was the right place to play basketball and win championships.
Twenty-six years later, McNamara has a similar vision, only this time, McNamara is tasked with returning men’s basketball to national prominence as the program’s ninth head coach.
“Anybody that knows me knows why I’m here. I’m here to win. It’s who I am and it’s who I will always be,” McNamara said to more than 2,000 Orange fans who packed Miron Victory Court Monday afternoon for his introductory press conference.
Among those who offered remarks were Chancellor-elect J. Michael Haynie, incoming Director of Athletics Bryan Blair and Director of Athletics John Wildhack ’80, who said McNamara was the perfect candidate because he “epitomizes what Syracuse basketball is [all about].”
“Gerry’s ready for this. We didn’t choose Gerry because he’s an alum, or his number 3 hangs from the rafters in the JMA Wireless Dome,” Wildhack said. “He’s the right person at the right time to lead our program.”
Recognizing that “Syracuse basketball is embedded in the soul of this University,” Chancellor-elect Haynie echoed Wildhack’s sentiment, welcoming McNamara “back where he belongs, back in Orange.”
“What stood out about Gerry wasn’t just his resume, which is impressive. It wasn’t just the results, though they speak for themselves,” Haynie said. “Every person who worked with Gerry, every reference that we talked to said the same thing. They said he makes people better. He holds them to a high standard. He cares about them as people, not just as athletes. That he’s the kind of leader that we would want for our student-athletes.”
McNamara expressed gratitude to return to the place where he starred for four years.
“I can’t even tell you how honored, how blessed I am for this moment to be here. It really is kind of a dream come true for us,” said McNamara, who helped the Orange win the 2003 men’s basketball national championship.
It’s a dream McNamara wasn’t sure he’d ever get after leaving Syracuse in March of 2024. After 14 seasons as an assistant coach and one season as associate head coach, McNamara took over as Siena University’s head men’s basketball coach.
But following two successful seasons, including guiding the Saints into the 2026 NCAA Division I tournament for the first time in 16 years, McNamara is back with the Orange.
“During the four-year stretch of my [undergraduate] experience, my love grew for the people of this city, for the University that gave me the opportunity to showcase my gifts on the biggest stage,” said McNamara.
Get to know McNamara and his message for the Orange community.
Winning Is in G-Mac’s DNA
McNamara’s playing days at Syracuse were defined by wins. Not only did the Orange win the national title in 2003, Syracuse made the NCAA tournament in four consecutive seasons, compiling a 103-32 overall record with two Big East postseason championships.
Winning also matters to Bryan Blair, the Orange’s new director of athletics who was tasked with hiring a new basketball coach. After an initial phone conversation about the job, McNamara sat down for a face-to-face conversation with Blair, who leaned in close, looked him in the eyes and said “I want to win. No matter what, I want to win.”
“That statement from Bryan, for me, was where this went from being like an interview to motivationally aligned,” McNamara said. “We’re lockstep: same mentality, same goals, same direction.”
McNamara told current and future Syracuse students that, as part of their college experience, the basketball team “needs to be good. That should be non-negotiable. … That should be part of your journey as a student. It should be so much fun because the basketball team is so good. … I’m going to do my best to work my rear end off to change it.”
Relationships Stand the Test of Time
McNamara credited his parents, Gerard and Joyce, for teaching him “everything I feel like I am as a person, as a man, as a husband and a father.”
After McNamara was offered the opportunity to take over at his alma mater, one of the first things McNamara did was FaceTime with his parents to let them know “I’m about to sign a contract to be the head coach at . [It was] one of the great things and memories of my life.”
In the name, image and likeness (NIL) age, where student-athletes have agents and eye lucrative sponsorship deals, McNamara emphasized the importance of the relationships he builds.
“For me to truly be at my best, there’s that communication level and relationship building,” McNamara said. “To me, the relationships and the love for a place are always going to stand the test of time.”
G-Mac Learned to Love Basketball From His Dad
Before he set school records for —and before he was the two-time Associated Press Pennsylvania Boys High School Small School Player of the Year and the 2002 Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year for Bishop Hannan (now known as Holy Cross)—McNamara was simply a basketball enthusiast.
“I loved basketball, and because I loved it, my father gave me as much of it as I could absorb, [from playing in] different leagues to [getting the] key to the gym at Holy Rosary Parish,” said McNamara, the Orange’s leader in career three-pointers made, free throw percentage and minutes played.
Simple Formula for Success
Between frequent travel for games and recruiting trips and late nights at the office watching game film, the life of a college basketball coach can be complicated.
But at home, surrounded by sons, Gerry and Patrick, and daughters, Maggie and Grace, McNamara says he’s found a simple formula for success. It all starts with his wife, Katie, a fellow Scranton native.
“Going into the last job [at Siena], Katie said, ‘Our happiness is simple’,” Gerry said. “And the way I took that was, ‘Yes, it is. It’s very simple because it’s us.’ It’s always going to be us. We’re in this together always. But as I take this job, it’s not as simple as that. Our happiness is simple because you make it so easy for us to be happy. There’s no one I love and truly admire more than you.”
