The first coach to lead the Statesmen to the NCAA Basketball Championship Tournament, Rich Roche returned to his alma mater to coach the Hobart basketball program on Aug. 4, 1997. A four-year varsity letterman and team captain, he garnered the Charles E. Love Memorial Award for scholarship, leadership, and all around value to his team.

Entering his ninth season at the helm, Roche is tied for second on the school's career wins list (94), while boasting the highest wins per season average of any Hobart basketball coach. His progress with a program that featured just three winning seasons between 1978-79 and 1996-97 has not gone unnoticed. In 2001, he was named the Liberty League, RACA, NABC East Region, and BCANY Upstate coach of the year. Roche has mentored a finalist for the Jostens Trophy (Division III Player of the Year), four Regional All-Americans, three Liberty League Players of the Year, and a Liberty League Rookie of the Year.

Roache directed the 2004-05 Statesmen to a 16-11 overall record and a 10-4 mark in the Libert Leage, which earned them the regular season conference crown. In the ECAC Upstate tournament quarterfinals, Hobart defeated SUNY Plattsburg 88-74 for the program's first postseason victory.

His direction hit a high-water mark for the program during the 2000-01 campaign, breaking the school record for wins in a season with a 20-8 record, including an 11-3 mark in conference play. In the Liberty League Tournament, the Statesmen ran the table, claiming their first league title. The victory earned them a spot in the NCAA Tournament, while their record warranted a first round bye.

Roche returned to his alma mater from St. Anthony's High School where he taught history for eight years and coached the basketball team for six seasons. During this time, Roche rebuilt a tradition rich program compiling an 80-64 record, producing 17 college players and reestablishing the South Huntington, N.Y., school as a state Catholic power. In 1993, his Friars won the Long Island Catholic League Championship, and Roche received Coach of the Year honors. In 1997, St. Anthony's made another trip to the league finals in a season that included a victory over national high school power Christ the King of New York City.

Roche earned a master's degree in education from Villanova University in 1994, and spent the 1993-94 season as an assistant coach to Steve Lappas. That season the Wildcats compiled a 20-12 record and won the National Invitation Tournament championship at Madison Square Garden.

Prior to being named head coach at St. Anthony's, Roche spent single season stints as an assistant coach at SUNY-Farmingdale and New York Institute of Technology.

A native of Oceanside, N.Y., Roche and his wife, Melissa, reside in Canandaigua with their daughter, Hannah.

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