Photo courtesy of Hamilton College G.P. Gromacki brings a career head coaching record of 163-38 to Amherst College

Gromacki to Lead Lord Jeffs in 2007-08 Season

By Justin Long

June 21, 2007

AMHERST, MA – Amherst College is pleased to announce G.P. Gromacki as the new head coach of women’s basketball. After six years as head coach at Saint Lawrence University, Gromacki spent two years as an assistant coach at Temple University and one season as interim head coach at Hamilton College.

Amherst Athletic Director Suzanne Coffey is excited about Gromacki’s impressive track record as a head coach. “He brings to Amherst a record of great accomplishments. I'm delighted to have him join the Amherst coaching staff, and am looking forward to seeing what he can do for our women’s basketball program.”

“It is an honor to be part of this athletic department and campus community,” says Gromacki, whose first stint as head coach came at Saint Lawrence in 1998 after serving as the associate head coach for the 1997-98 season. He wasted no time making an impact, as he led the Saints to their first 20-win season in program history during the 1998-99 campaign, marking the first of six consecutive 20-win seasons. The Saints qualified for the NCAA Tournament in five of those six seasons, earning a trip to the national championship game in 2002.

Temple welcomed Gromacki in 2004, where he served as the assistant coach for two seasons. Aside from recruiting players from all 50 states and scouting opposing teams, he helped lead the Owls to a pair of Atlantic-10 championships and NCAA tournament berths. Last season, Gromacki led the Hamilton women’s basketball team to its first Liberty Tournament championship in program history, giving the Continentals their first NCAA tournament berth.

Gromacki is no stranger to the Amherst area, as he has coached at several local basketball camps since 1994, including the John Calipari Basketball School and Western MA Basketball Camp at Amherst College. “I grew up here in Western Massachusetts and I love the area,” says Gromacki. “It is great to be home again.” 

The Ohio State University graduate is also no stranger to striving for academic success; while at Saint Lawrence, his teams earned a team GPA higher than 3.0 in five out of six years. During the 1998-99 season, his team earned the highest GPA of all varsity sports at Saint Lawrence. “I believe it is a coach’s responsibility,” says Gromacki, “to ensure that his or her players develop as athletes, but more importantly as good people.”

Billy McBride was named an Assistant Athletic Director at Amherst College this spring after finishing his 14th season as head coach of the women's basketball team at Amherst in 2007, with a 185-156 career record and a string of competitive teams and accomplished student-athletes to his credit. In 2000-01, McBride was named both the NESCAC and the Russell Athletic/WBCA District I Coach of the Year after leading the Jeffs to a 23-5 record.

Lynn Hersey, who has served the program well for six years, most recently as the co-head coach, has accepted the head coaching position of women’s basketball at Smith College. Aside from helping recruit talented student-athletes to the basketball program, Hersey was a member of the Amherst softball coaching staff for the past five seasons, including a stint as interim head coach in 2006 when she led the Jeffs to an 18-12 record and NESCAC tournament appearance.

Amherst’s 2007-08 women’s basketball team will feature last season’s NESCAC Rookie of the Year, an All-NESCAC Second Team member, and the loss of only one senior to graduation. Gromacki and his .811 career winning percentage (163-38) should have plenty of talent to work with, and will hopefully return Amherst to powerhouse status in the NESCAC.