Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

DeChellis leaves Penn State for Navy

STATE COLLEGE - Ed DeChellis, who led Penn State to the NCAA Tournament this year, resigned yesterday to take the vacant basketball coaching job at Navy.

"I found another special place in the U.S. Naval Academy," Penn State basketball coach Ed DeChellis said. (John Beale/AP)
"I found another special place in the U.S. Naval Academy," Penn State basketball coach Ed DeChellis said. (John Beale/AP)Read more

STATE COLLEGE - Ed DeChellis, who led Penn State to the NCAA Tournament this year, resigned yesterday to take the vacant basketball coaching job at Navy.

The 15-year coaching veteran said he found "a calling" in announcing the surprise move 2 months after orchestrating his alma mater's first NCAA bid in a decade. The Nittany Lions lost to Temple, 66-64, in the second round.

"It's been a very, very dificult weekend for me and my family. If I break down, there's good reason for that," DeChellis said during a 20-minute news conference at the Jordan Center. "Penn State is a special place for me and my family, but I found another special place in the U.S. Naval Academy."

He goes from a power conference school to a program that plays in the brainy Patriot League. DeChellis took the job on Sunday.

"It was very, very difficult. At Mass [Sunday], father talked about a path. Sometimes a path is presented to you that you have to be able to walk down," he said before stopping to compose himself before nearly tearing up.

In a statement, Penn State athletic director Tim Curley said the school would launch a national search for a replacement.

DeChellis' 8-year run at Penn State includes the 2009 NIT championship. He was rewarded with a 3-year extension later that year that would have kept him in Happy Valley until 2014.

An open-records request in 2009 showed DeChellis made more than $642,000.

After an 11-20 season in 2009-10, the Nittany Lions (19-15) secured an NCAA appearance this past season after surging into the Big Ten Tournament finals before losing to Ohio State, 71-60.

The Navy job opened up after Billy Lange resigned earlier this month following a second straight losing season. Lange took an assistant-coaching job at Villanova.

DeChellis finished with a 114-138 record at Penn State, but was 41-95 in the regular season in the Big Ten. Counting a previous 7-year stint at East Tennessee State, DeChellis has a career coaching record of 219-231.