Fordham Introduces Jeff Neubauer as Its New Men's Basketball Head Coach

Fordham University introduced Jeff Neubauer as its new men's basketball head coach at a press conference Tuesday afternoon on the school's Rose Hill campus.

The 44-year-old Neubauer spent the past 10 years as head coach at Eastern Kentucky where he led the Colonels to five 20-win seasons, five postseasons (two appearances in the NCAA tournament) and an overall record of 188-134.

"It's the X-factor," Fordham athletic director David Roach said when describing what he looks for in a coach. "People want to know what it is. I can't explain it, but I can feel it when I see it and when I'm around it.

"As soon as I met Jeff, I knew right away we had the ideal person for Fordham," he added.

Neubauer replaces Tom Pecora, who was fired two weeks ago after posting a 44-106 record in five seasons at Fordham. He'll be the fifth Rams coach in the past 16 years.

"It's absolutely an honor to be standing here right now and to be the head coach at Fordham," Neubauer said during his opening remarks.

"Over the last 72 hours, the roller coaster of emotions that I've felt is literally the greatest elation of being the head coach here at Fordham, but also sitting in my hotel room yesterday morning literally crying about the group of men I'm leaving behind at Eastern Kentucky."

Neubauer will face incredible challenges trying to build the Rams into a winner. Since joining the Atlantic 10 Conference prior to the 1995 season, Fordham has finished above .500 just once and has a 76-246 record against league opponents over 20 seasons.

"The biggest reason I'm here is that I love challenges," Neubauer said, "and that is going to be the mantra of our program."

He added: "I'm not walking in here with a five-year plan. I shared with our team that we're walking in here with a one-year plan. ... These guys are really hungry for success."

He'll also have to deal with the reality that Fordham may lose its best player. As Josh Thompson of The Journal News reported last week, Eric Paschall, the A-10 Rookie of the Year, is considering transferring, and he was not at Tuesday's press conference as a result of a planned visit to Villanova.

Neubauer is hoping he can keep the freshman star around.

"I was incredibly impressed with Eric yesterday," Neubauer told Bleacher Report. "I spent more time with him yesterday than with any guy. ... I was blown away with him and I look forward to coaching him." 

And then there's this: Neubauer doesn't appear to have been Fordham's first choice. Last week, WFUV Sports reported via Twitter that Robert Morris head coach Andy Toole was close to a deal to become the Rams' new coach. That deal never happened, with Toole deciding to stay with the Colonials.

But Roach said the national search produced quality candidates, and he's happy with the end result.

"We were able to interview a bunch of coaches," Roach told B/R. "From there, he really kind of popped out."

Before spending a decade at Eastern Kentucky, Neubauer was an assistant under current Michigan coach John Beilein at West Virginia and Richmond.

He's had success at every stop. Fordham will be his greatest challenge.

Quotations in this article were obtained firsthand.

Follow Charles Costello on Twitter: @CFCostello. A full archive of his articles can be found here.