Digger Phelps

Former Notre Dame Basketball Head Coach,

ESPN College Basketball Analyst

Career Highlights: Digger Phelps enjoyed two successful decades as Notre Dame’s head basketball coach (1972-1991)…Phelps won more games (393) than any coach in Irish history…His teams advanced to the NCAA Championship on 14 occasions – including six of his last seven seasons – and reached the Final Four in 1978…One of his career highlights was snapping UCLA’s historic 88-game winning streak in 1974… Phelps joined ESPN as a college basketball studio and game analyst in November 1993…Currently, he works in the studio each Monday and Tuesday, contributes to College Hoops Tonight and calls select games…He also works as the main studio analyst for ABC Sports’ college basketball coverage and teams with Dick Vitale to provide studio and on-site analysis during ESPN’s Championship Week, the NCAA Championship and the NCAA Final Four…Before coaching at Notre Dame, Phelps was the head basketball coach at Fordham University during the 1970-71 season, where his team compiled a 26-3 record and advanced to the NCAA Championship…After resigning from Notre Dame, he was appointed as a special assistant to the Executive Office of the President for National Drug Policy (1992-93) during President Bush’s administration…He also served as head of the United States delegation to the January 1993 Inauguration of President Rawlings of Ghana, Africa, and was part of the United Nations observer team for the 1993 elections in Cambodia…Phelps has authored four books, including a biography released in 2007, entitled “Undertaker’s Son:  Life Lessons from a Coach”…The book details Phelps’ upbringing as the son of a father who owned a funeral service (thus the nickname “Digger”), professional success and life principles.

Updated: May, 2008
Courtesy NBC