Marist women’s head basketball coach Brian Giorgis has announced his retirement following the 2022-23 season.
“It’s been an incredible ride, but it’s time,” Giorgis said. “As sad as I am to see the light at the end of the tunnel, I am extremely excited for the future of Marist women’s basketball. Marist could not have made a better choice than Coach Erin Doughty to continue the legacy of Marist women’s basketball. She brings the enthusiasm, knowledge, and spirit of what the program has been about for the last 20 years, and I am confident that Erin can bring the program to even greater heights. I thank Tim Murray, Deb DiCaprio, Dennis Murray, and Kevin Weinman for one of the most incredible journeys that a coach could ever have, and I thank them for having the vision to see that Coach Doughty can take the program even further.”
Giorgis is currently in his 20th season as head coach of the Red Foxes. He has the best track record of championship success of any coach in the 40-year history of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference women’s basketball. Giorgis led the Red Foxes to their first MAAC championship in 2004, won nine straight conference crowns from 2006 through 2014, and most recently captured the title in 2021. His total of 11 MAAC championships is the most in conference history.
“What an incredible coaching career!” Marist Director of Athletics Tim Murray said. “Brian’s successes over the past 20 years here at Marist have exceeded everyone’s expectations. He recruited, developed and won with terrific basketball players, but more importantly, with amazing young women that captivated both the Marist community and the fans throughout the greater Hudson Valley. He established Marist women’s basketball as one of the top mid-major programs in the country. As we reflect on Coach Giorgis’ career here, we are grateful for his devotion and I look forward to his final upcoming season as our head coach. In looking towards the future, I am very confident in the transition of leadership to Erin Doughty as she has been at Brian’s side throughout every game of Brian’s career here at Marist. I have watched Erin grow and develop from player to coach, and I have been extremely impressed by her ability to develop impactful relationships with our current players and recruits. These relationships will be a tremendous asset to her as she continues the great tradition of success of our Marist women’s basketball program.”
In 2007, Marist became the first team in MAAC history to reach the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. Giorgis has won five NCAA Tournament games in his tenure, as he also led the Red Foxes to first-round victories in 2008, 2011, and 2012. That total is also the most of any coach in MAAC history.
Giorgis’ current record stands at 450-181 overall and 292-74 in MAAC regular-season play. He led the Red Foxes to three undefeated MAAC seasons in a six-year span: 2007-08, 2010-11, and 2012-13. He has been named MAAC Coach of the Year eight times and has had seven MAAC Player of the Year honorees. His program’s success has extended to the classroom, as four of his players have been named MAAC Female Student-Athlete of the Year.
Giorgis’ coaching prowess has extended to the international stage. In 2013, he served as an assistant coach for Team USA at the World University Games in Russia. Team USA earned the gold medal and won all six of its contests.
Associate head coach Erin Doughty has been named Giorgis’ successor, and will take over as head coach on April 1, 2023.
After amassing 451 wins and nine state championship as the girls’ basketball coach at Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Poughkeepsie, Giorgis was named head coach of the Marist women’s basketball program on May 15, 2002. That fall, Doughty joined the Red Foxes as a walk-on guard, and has been part of the program’s success ever since.
Doughty played three seasons for the Red Foxes from 2002-05. In her senior year of 2005-06, she became a student assistant coach. She worked her way up to become the program’s top assistant in 2013, and was promoted to associate head coach in 2018. Doughty is a two-time Marist graduate who earned her bachelor’s degree in 2006 and her master’s in 2008.
“It has been a great privilege and honor to play for, learn from, and coach with Coach Giorgis during his 20 years at Marist,” Doughty said. “He has created a tradition and legacy that is second to none, and one that I am forever grateful to be a part of. I feel extremely lucky to have learned from one of the very best, and extremely humbled to be chosen as the next head coach of Marist women’s basketball. I am excited for this next challenge and grateful for the support of Coach Giorgis, Tim Murray, Deb DiCaprio, Geoff Brackett, and Kevin Weinman. Red Fox Nation, you will get my very best and I look forward to continuing to carry on the great tradition built by Coach Giorgis.”
Doughty is part of a growing list of former players and coaches under Giorgis who have risen through the coaching ranks. Three of Doughty’s teammates from Marist’s first conference championship team in 2004 are currently head coaches: Maureen Magarity (Holy Cross), Alisa Kresge (Vermont), and Stephanie Del Preore (East Stroudsburg). Additionally, former Giorgis assistants Megan Gebbia (American), Jada Pierce (Niagara), and Keila Whittington (Saint Francis) are currently Division I head coaches. Approximately a dozen of Giorgis’ former players and/or assistants have gone on to coach at the collegiate level.
“Brian’s incredible record of wins on the court speaks for itself, but is only a fraction of his amazing story,” said Marist College President Kevin Weinman. “For decades, he has developed student-athletes on and off the court, as well as the next generation of women’s basketball coaches. Over the next year, we look forward to celebrating Brian’s accomplishments and contributions to Marist, and to welcoming Erin Doughty to her well-deserved appointment to be Marist’s next head coach.”
A press conference will be held on Wednesday, March 2 at 10 a.m. at McCann Arena. Giorgis, Doughty, Weinman, and Murray will speak and be available to answer questions.
