The University of Saint Francis has named Nate Conley as the next head coach of the Cougars’ men’s basketball program. Conley succeeds Chad LaCross, who served as head coach for 15 years and retired as the winningest men’s basketball coach in school history.
“After a very thorough search and speaking with a lot of really good candidates, we are excited to welcome Nate Conley to Saint Francis as our next head men’s basketball coach,” Saint Francis Athletic Director Mike McCaffrey said. “Nate’s passion for this position and desire to maintain the legacy of Saint Francis basketball was very evident to everyone he interacted with. He has shown the ability to quickly turn around a college program and, being a Fort Wayne native, has a lot of community support already in place to help the program succeed.”
“I am truly honored and humbled to be named the head men’s basketball coach at the University of Saint Francis,” Conley said. “This program has a proud tradition of success on and off the court, and I am eager to build upon that legacy. I want to thank Athletic Director Mike McCaffrey and the search committee for this prestigious opportunity. Saint Francis offers the perfect product of developing the whole person through faith, academics and athletics in the city of Fort Wayne, which is a vibrant community with deep ties to the university and its athletic programs. Ultimately, SF is a place where I can help develop young men into leaders on our campus and in the community while competing at the highest level in the Crossroads League. My family and I are excited to continue to call Fort Wayne home and join the Cougar Family! Go Cougars!”
Conley joins Saint Francis after spending the past six seasons as the head coach at Manchester University in North Manchester, Indiana. During his time at Manchester, the Spartans achieved a record of 62-80, with a conference record of 44-49 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC).
In the 2022-23 season, Conley led Manchester to its first HCAC regular-season title in over a decade and was recognized as HCAC Coach of the Year. He developed Zach Sawyer into Manchester’s first HCAC Player of the Year since 2011 and a Second Team All-Region honoree. Under Conley, 11 players earned All-HCAC honors, with one also being named D3hoops.com Player of the Week.
Before Manchester, Conley coached at Ohio Wesleyan University, serving as assistant and then associate head coach. While there, OWU had a 119-49 record, won three North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) regular season titles, made three NCAA Division III Tournament appearances, and was ranked as high as No. 6 nationally. He mentored award-winning players, including a national player of the year, and helped develop several All-Americans and all-conference honorees.
As a graduate assistant at Defiance College, Conley helped guide the team to a pair of HCAC Tournament appearances and coached multiple all-conference players.
Conley earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Defiance College, where he was also a member of the Yellow Jackets men’s basketball team. During his playing career, he won a total of 77 games. His playing career is highlighted by the 2007-08 HCAC Regular Season Championship and the 2009-10 HCAC Tournament Championship when Conley started every game his senior year on a 23-6 squad.
Conley and his wife, Chelsea, reside in Fort Wayne with their daughter, Logan, and son, Nash.
Founded in 1890 in the Catholic Franciscan tradition, the University of Saint Francis offers more than 60 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs through the College of Health Sciences and the College of Arts, Sciences, and Business. In addition to its traditional programs, Saint Francis designs focused curricula for working adults in Fort Wayne, Crown Point, Lafayette and online. Saint Francis Downtown houses the music technology program while offering enhanced internship and networking opportunities for students. The University of Saint Francis, recognized as an NAIA Five-Star Champion of Character institution, has 21 athletic programs boasting two individual and four team NAIA national championships. More than 1,900 students from a broad geographic region attend Saint Francis.