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SANTA CLARA, Calif. – With a resume that includes 18 postseason appearances and three conference coach of the year awards, along with demonstrated player and staff development, Herb Sendek has been hired as Santa Clara's head men's basketball coach. He was introduced Wednesday, March 30 during a news conference and campus welcome.

Sendek, one of the three youngest coaches with 400 or more career victories, has had three successful head-coaching tenures at the Division I level. He has spent 22 seasons as a collegiate head coach with stops at Arizona State, North Carolina State and Miami (Ohio), compiling a 413-295 (.583) career record, including 39 victories against top 25 teams. He earned coach of the year in the Pac-10, Atlantic Coast Conference and Mid-American Conference.

"We're thrilled to bring Coach Sendek into the Santa Clara University family," director of athletics Renee Baumgartner said. "He's a veteran coach and a proven winner who has been successful at the highest levels of college basketball. This is an exciting day for Santa Clara basketball."

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Sendek has recruited or coached a number of standout players, including NBA first-round draft choices James Harden (Arizona State), Julius Hodge (NC State) and Wally Szczerbiak (Miami). Sendek also has 12 former assistant coaches, administrative assistants or graduate assistants currently serving as Division I head coaches.

"I would sincerely like to thank [University president] Father Engh and Renee Baumgartner for giving me the opportunity to coach at Santa Clara University," Sendek said. "My family and I are thrilled to join the Santa Clara community. We are excited to get started and look forward to building on the foundation of the efforts of those who have come before us."

He most recently served nine seasons (2006-15) at Arizona State, posting five 20-win campaigns and making five postseason appearances, including two trips to the NCAAs for a program which had only three in the previous 25 years. In addition, the Sun Devils produced just three 20-win campaigns in the prior 25 seasons to his arrival.

Sendek, who posted a 159-137 (.537) record at the school, led ASU to three straight 20-win seasons - 2007-08 (21-13), 2008-09 (25-10) and 2009-10 (22-11) - which had not happened since 1961-63. He was the Pac-10 Coach of the Year in 2009-10 when the Sun Devils went 25-10.

Sendek, 53, had a successful 10-year tenure (1996-2006) at North Carolina State, which finished with five straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including four with at least one victory.

He amassed a 191-132 (.591) mark with the Wolfpack, earning 2003-04 Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year. In his final five seasons, NCSU won 53 league games, with only Duke totaling more (76) in that time frame.

The 15th coach in Santa Clara men's basketball history, Sendek earned his first head-coaching job at Miami University when he was just 30 years old. He led the now RedHawks to the postseason in each of his three seasons (1993-96) and his winning percentage (.708/63-26) remains first in school history (minimum three years).

After winning the 1994-95 MAC regular-season title, Miami (Ohio) earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, where Sendek's 12th-seeded squad defeated No. 5 seed (and 15th-ranked) Arizona before losing to 13th-ranked and fourth-seeded Virginia in overtime.

He is the only coach ever to lead Miami to postseason play in each of his first three seasons, and he reached 50 victories quicker than any other coach at the school.

"Herb Sendek is an excellent hire for Santa Clara," former Santa Clara head basketball coach and director of athletics Carroll Williams said. "Coach Sendek brings a wealth of successful experience to the Santa Clara community. He is an excellent teacher and innovator of the game of basketball. His basketball and academic background will blend well with the entire Santa Clara community. Coach Sendek is who we need at Santa Clara."

After finishing at Carnegie-Mellon University in 1985, which included a stint as a volunteer assistant at Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, Sendek began an eight-year stint as a Division I assistant coach.

He served as an assistant coach at Providence College for four years (1985-89), starting under Rick Pitino and helping the Friars earn a trip to the 1987 Final Four. He spent his final season under head coach Rick Barnes with the Friars again landing in the NCAA Tournament.

With a reputation as a standout recruiter, Sendek joined Pitino at Kentucky for the 1989-90 season and remained for four years. Sports Illustrated named him one of the top 10 recruiters in the nation during 1992-93, which ended in a Final Four run for the Wildcats.

Coming off two years probation, Kentucky also made a trip to the 1992 Elite Eight, a run that ended in overtime against Duke on the famous Grant Hill-to-Christian Laettner last-second inbounds heave.

In addition to his on-court success, Sendek, who graduated from college with 3.95 grade-point average, has stressed academics. While at Arizona State, the program had a 100-percent senior graduation rate and the top graduation success rate in the Pac-12. He inherited a team with Academic Progress Rate (APR) scholarship penalties and posted a perfect 1,000 score in five reporting years, including each of the final four (2010-11 through 2013-14).

Four Arizona State players earned master's degrees in Sendek's final three seasons and six former players came back to finish their studies.

"Coach Sendek has a track record of great success both on the court and in the classroom," Baumgartner said. "His philosophy mirrors that of our University in developing the whole person."

Sendek was one of only three coaches who had NBA first-round picks in both the 2005 and 2006 drafts, and then followed that up in 2009 with a top-three pick (Harden at No. 3) and the first pick of the second round (Jeff Pendergraph). Jahii Carson earned Pac-12 Co-Freshman of the Year in 2012-13, while Jordan Bachynski was the 2013-14 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.

Sendek is the co-author of Gen Y Now – Millennials and the Evolution of
Leadership and is a member of the NCAA Ethics Coalition. He and his wife, Melanie, have three daughters - Kristin, Catherine, Kelly.

What They're Saying About Sendek…

"My family and I couldn't be more excited for Coach Sendek and his family. First of all, he is a great coach. Santa Clara University should be so excited.  He brings an unmatched commitment level to work every day. He takes tremendous pride in the development of his players, coaches, and staff in all areas of their life. He impacted me in so many ways and continues to do so to this day. The University as a whole, alums and the campus community will not have a better advocate on their behalf, he represents character and class at all times"
- Archie Miller, current head coach at Dayton who served as a Sendek assistant at NC State and Arizona State

"Santa Clara hit a grand slam. I've been very blessed to be friends with Coach Sendek for about the last 10 years. I would go down and watch his practices and the way he coached his team on a daily basis was impressive. He's a man of the highest integrity. His players are going to represent Santa Clara in the best of all ways. They're going to be well prepared on the court. I know it's a terrific academic school and coach's teams have always done well academically. He preaches balance to these young men in their lives in terms of being the best players they can be but also being the best students. He's the finest teacher of the game I've ever been around. There is nobody who cares more about doing things the right way than Coach Sendek. I hope Santa Clara knows how blessed they are to get a man of his stature. He's been a coach of the year in three different conferences. What he brings to the school is instant credibility and recognition."
- Doug Collins, current ESPN analyst and former head coach of the Chicago Bulls and All-NBA player

"In Herb Sendek, Santa Clara has hired one of the most respected head coaches in college basketball. He has the complete and total understanding of how to run a program. His teams always embody the qualities of unselfishness, purpose and great effort. This is a direct reflection of the experience and intelligence of Herb. Santa Clara will experience tremendous development under his guidance."
- Sean Miller, current head coach at Arizona who served as a Sendek assistant at Miami (Ohio) and NC State

"I've known Herb for over 30 years, and I can truly say my relationship with him is one of my most cherished in the game of basketball. Herb is a great basketball mind, and I've learned an incredible amount about the game from him over the years, from my time playing for him in college, coaching alongside him at Kentucky, and most importantly as a friend just talking about the game."
- Billy Donovan, current Oklahoma City Thunder head coach who played under Sendek at Providence and coached with him at Kentucky

#served as admin assistant; ^served as grad assistant