The SUNY Cobleskill Department of Sport & Exercise announced today that Phil Knapp has been appointed to serve as Head Women’s Basketball Coach beginning in the 2014-15 season. Knapp succeeds Larry King who left in August to pursue other coaching opportunities after compiling 59-67 overall record including a 34-40 North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) mark in five years with the Fighting Tigers.
A native of Preble, N.Y., Knapp lettered in: basketball, cross country, track & field and baseball during his prep years at Tully High School. He is also a SUNY Cobleskill alumnus having earned his Associate’s Degree in Science from the college prior to earning both his Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education in 1997 and Master’s Degree in Physical Education in 2003 from SUNY Cortland.
Knapp began his basketball coaching career in 1997 with the women’s program at SUNY Cortland helping the Red Dragons to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Upstate Region Tournament before moving to Cazenovia College in Cazenovia, N.Y. to work with the women’s program in 1998. He subsequently moved to Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, N.Y. when the Lazers restarted their women’s program in 1999 coaching in the program through 2001.
In 2002, he entered the high school coaching ranks taking over as the head junior varsity boys coach at Moravia High School in Moravia, N.Y. winning a league title during the 2003-04 season. He then moved to Cincinnatus High School in Cincinnatus, N.Y. in 2005 to serve as an assistant coach in the boys’ varsity program.
Beginning in 2006 thru 2010, he returned to the college coaching ranks at Cazenovia College this time with the Wildcats’ men’s basketball program where he helped the program to the NEAC Championship Tournament several times including a conference title during the 2007-08 season.
Knapp then returned to SUNY Cobleskill for the 2010-11 season to serve as an assistant coach in the Fighting Tigers men’s program helping the Orange & Black to an NEAC Tournament appearance that year.
He subsequently returned to Cazenovia College in 2011 to serve again as an assistant coach in the Wildcats’ women’s program helping the team to a NEAC Tournament appearance in 2014.
As he heads into returns to Cobleskill and begins his first season at the helm of the Fighting Tigers, Knapp is excited to be back and for the challenges that are ahead.
"It’s an honor to be back at the school that I attended. I had a good undergraduate experience at Cobleskill and am looking forward to working with the student-athletes that we have at the college and in our program."
The new head coach also has some definitive plans for what he hopes to accomplish this season and beyond.
"On the court, we want to be competitive in every game we play this season and improve our win total over last year," said Knapp. "The other thing we’ve got to accomplish this year is to reestablish our recruiting particularly in the upstate area including: the Hudson Valley corridor, Albany and the Capital District and of course the Syracuse area."
In addition to his basketball coaching duties, Knapp will also serve the college as the Director of Campus Recreation.
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