Two alums meet in NCAA Final Four; Gavitt elected to hall of fame

Friartown was abuzz with excitement during the start of April, when three Providence College basketball legends scored extraordinary achievements in the national spotlight.

Former men’s basketball players Billy Donovan ’87 and Jim Larranaga ’71 met as opposing head coaches in the Final Four of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday, April 1. They are the head coaches of the University of Florida and of George Mason University , respectively.

Donovan’s Florida Gators went on to capture the national title on Monday, April 3—the same day that former PC men’s basketball coach Dave Gavitt ’89Hon. was selected for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 

Final Four fun, national title run

Donovan and Larranaga stirred the pride and nostalgia of their alma mater and Friar fans when they matched up on the sidelines in the first game of the NCAA Final Four. Donovan and Florida downed Larranaga’s Cinderella-like George Mason team, 73-58, to advance to the NCAA Championship two nights later.

Florida then went one step further, defeating UCLA, 73-57, to give Donovan the first NCAA Championship of his coaching career. Florida’s ninth-year coach, Donovan, 40, is the second-youngest head coach to win an NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, the youngest being Bobby Knight of Indiana at age 35.

How rare was it that two former Friars would meet as head coaches in the Final Four? According to Dr. Jeffrey T. Hoag, associate professor of mathematics at PC, the odds were approximately 1 in 30,000. CBS, which televised the entire NCAA Tournament, reported that it believed that Donovan and Larranaga were the second pair of head coaches from the same alma mater to meet in the national semifinals in 50 years.

Donovan and Larranaga played four and three years of varsity basketball, respectively. Each was a team captain in his senior year. Donovan totaled 1,328 career points and Larranaga scored 1,258 points, ranking them 15th and 18th, respectively, all-time at PC.

During the Final Four pre-game show on April 1, CBS aired a taped interview by reporter Lesley Visser with Donovan and Larranaga. Each coach praised the other’s team and then Visser presented them with PC black-and-white basketball jerseys with their names and uniform numbers inscribed on them.

The coaches’ alma mater fervently conveyed its pride and excitement over this unique, nationally showcased meeting. College President Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. ’80 penned a letter of congratulations to both coaches prior to the game and the College was responsible for providing the jerseys that CBS presented to Donovan and Larranaga.

Gavitt elected to hall of fame

One of the most respected figures in the sport of basketball, Gavitt was elected to the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He was chosen in the contributor category as one of the six honorees picked for this year’s class. Enshrinement ceremonies will be held the weekend of September 7-9 in Springfield, Mass.

Gavitt was PC’s men’s basketball head coach from 1969-1979 and served as the College’s athletic director from 1971-1982. Counting his responsibilities as an assistant coach to the legendary Joe Mullaney from 1962-1966, Gavitt spent 17 years at PC.

While Gavitt’s accomplishments as a coach officially could not be considered in the contributor category by the hall of fame’s voters, he is one of the two most successful coaches in Friar basketball history. His record of 209-84 ranks him first in winning percentage (.713) all-time. He also directed PC to its first NCAA Final Four appearance in 1973 and to eight consecutive 20-win seasons, including five NCAA tournaments and three NIT tournaments. His success at Providence led to his selection as head coach of the 1980 United States Olympic Team.

One of the founders of the BIG EAST Conference, Gavitt served as BIG EAST commissioner from 1979-1990. Some of his other noteworthy contributions to the sport include serving as: a member and chair of the NCAA Division I Basketball Committee; member and president of USA Basketball; chairman of the board of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame; and chief executive officer of the Boston Celtics.

Gavitt is the third member of the PC basketball family to earn the honor of induction into the hall of fame. He joins John Thompson ’64 and Lenny Wilkens ’60, the latter who has been inducted as both a player and a coach.