Eastern Connecticut State University

Dr. Daniel B. Switchenko is the winningest coach in the 62-year history of the men’s intercollegiate basketball program. Raised in Willimantic, Switchenko served as head men’s basketball coach for 13 years. In that time, he compiled an overall won-loss record of 189-149 (55.9 percent) and led the Warriors to five post-season tournament berths. Switchenko is also the program coaching leader in total years and games (338). With discipline and preparedness serving as cornerstones of his program, Switchenko directed the Warriors to five Division III post-season tournaments, the first three in the ECAC and his last two in the NCAA. The NCAA tournament appearances were the first two in program history and the back-to-back appearances in 1991-92 and 1992-93 are currently the only consecutive ones in program history. Switchenko led the Warriors through their first eight seasons in the Little East Conference, winning conference Coach-of-the-Year laurels three times. In the championship game of the 1991-92 Little East Conference tournament, Eastern defeated No.-1 seeded host Massachusetts Dartmouth 71-64 to claim the first LEC title in program history. In the opening round of its first NCAA tournament, Eastern shocked Babson College, 69-67, to snap the Beavers’ 14-game winning streak. The following year proved to be the pinnacle of Switchenko’s coaching career, as the Warriors won a program-record 21 games. The final two wins that year came in the NCAA tournament and vaulted the Warriors into the tournament’s Elite Eight. Switchenko has been a member of the Health and Physical Education staff since 1981.