Nichols Family Director of Athletics Bob Scalise formally introduced Tommy Amaker as the head coach of men's basketball at Harvard April 13, 2007. He begins his third season at the helm in 2009-10.

Amaker, who brings a 199-174 career head coaching record into his third season at Harvard, posted a 109-83 ledger at Michigan and a 68-55 record at Seton Hall.

Amaker, who won two NCAA championships and advanced to five Final Fours as an assistant at Duke before embarking on a successful head coaching career at Seton Hall and Michigan, has been quick to adapt to his new surroundings as a member of the nation's most prestigious university.

"I've been fortunate to have been associated with some tremendous institutions, but none are greater than Harvard," said Amaker the day he was formally introduced as Harvard's new head coach. "I'm incredibly proud of this opportunity to represent the school, and I'm looking forward to the challenges ahead and to creating some special moments for Harvard basketball."

"We're delighted Tommy Amaker is joining us at Harvard," said Scalise. "He has been a well-respected head coach at the highest level of college basketball, and his experience as a player and assistant at Duke, where athletic and academic success is paramount, makes him a terrific fit. We look forward to the continued support of the Harvard and local communities as we pursue our first Ivy League championship in men's basketball."

That support, along with Amaker's already notable reputation as a people's person, has helped the Crimson land some of the country's top student-athletes in his first year on the recruiting trails.

His work started early and his 2008-09 recruiting class was quickly tabbed as one of the nation's 25 best by ESPN - an accolade never before bestowed upon an Ivy League institution. Amaker's seven-person recruiting class features numerous premier high school names from seven different states.

Notoriety aside, the Crimson performed admirably on the court in 2008-09. Injuries to its frontcourt nearly decimated the season but, despite dressing only eight players in some games with one healthy forward, Amaker's team posted 14 wins with some impressive results.

Chief among them was a convincing 82-70 victory over 17th-ranked Boston College - fresh off a victory against the nation's top-ranked team. The Crimson also earned its first win at Penn since the 1989-90 season while topping eventual league-champion Cornell at home.

He also led Harvard to a road victory at Yale - its first victory at Lee Amphitheater since the 1998-99 campaign. In all, Amaker's club won seven road games to lead the Ivy League in that category.

Amaker's Crimson pulled off some of the more notable performances around the Ancient Eight during the 2007-08 season as well. Despite having just one senior on its roster, Amaker and the Crimson pulled off a 62-51 victory over Michigan on national television.

Later in a season Harvard pulled off something that has been a rarity in Ivy play - a weekend sweep of Princeton and Penn. The weekend occurred at Lavietes Pavilion and started when the Crimson overcame an eight-point deficit to Princeton with 2:29 remaining in regulation en route to a 74-67 overtime victory. The next night Harvard toppled Penn, 89-79, to give Harvard just its third weekend sweep of the P's - and first since the 1986-87 season.

In Amaker's home opener, Harvard cruised past a Mercer team that had just defeated USC with a 91-73 victory as the Crimson shot better than 70 percent from the floor in the second half.

Amaker came to Harvard after six years as Michigan's head coach. Inheriting a program that was reeling from institutional and NCAA sanctions, he led the Wolverines to the postseason three times, winning the 2004 NIT title, reaching the championship game of the 2006 NIT, and advancing to the second round of the 2007 tournament. The 2006-07 season was Michigan's second straight 20-win campaign and its third in four years. The Wolverines were ranked at high as No. 20 in the nation during the 2005-06 season.

In his sixth and final season at the helm of the Maize and Blue squad, Amaker not only led the Wolverines to their second consecutive 20-win season, but their third in four years. Amaker's first head coaching position was at Seton Hall, where his teams reached the postseason every year during his tenure. He led the Pirates to the NCAA round of 16 in 2000 and to three appearances in the NIT. He was credited with bringing in the top recruiting class in the country for the 2000-01 season, including the national high school player of the year.

Amaker was named head coach at Seton Hall following nine years as a graduate assistant, assistant coach, and associate head coach at Duke, working with legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski. He was an assistant on two NCAA championship teams with the Blue Devils (1991, 1992) and helped Duke to three other Final Fours in eight NCAA tournament appearances. Duke was a combined 230-80 in Amaker's nine years on the Blue Devil coaching staff.

Amaker has been the head coach of five players who were either drafted, or signed as free agents, by NBA clubs, including two first-round draft picks.

Amaker's coaching career followed a highly successful playing career at Duke. He was a four-year starting point guard, helping the Blue Devils reach the NCAA tournament four times. He led Duke to the 1986 NCAA championship game as part of a 37-3 season, and he earned All-America accolades in 1987 while serving as team captain. Amaker was the 1987 winner of the Henry Iba Corinthian Award as the nation's top defensive player, and he was enshrined in the Duke Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.

"What an amazing selection," said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. "Tommy [Amaker] will be fantastic for Harvard and Harvard will be fantastic for Tommy. It will be a great combination. With Tommy's background at Duke and at Michigan, he is as well suited for the Harvard job as anyone could be. I am just ecstatic about the potential of that marriage."

Amaker's playing career also includes a gold medal as part of the U.S. national team at the 1986 World Championships.

A 1987 graduate of Duke with a bachelor's degree in economics, Amaker was selected by the Seattle Supersonics in the 1987 NBA draft. He is a former member of the board of directors for USA Basketball and was a member of the Men's Collegiate and Men's Senior National Committees with USA Basketball, where he helped select members of the 1996 gold-medal U.S. Olympic gold medal team.