2025 Commencement Speaker
Jim Calhoun One of the most successful coaches in American history, Jim Calhoun built the University of Connecticut men’s basketball program into a three-time NCAA champion and a perennial national power. His accomplishments brought Coach Calhoun basketball’s highest honor when he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005. His numerous accolades also include the prestigious John Wooden Legends of Coaching Award and four selections as BIG EAST Coach of the Year. After winning 248 games as head coach at Northeastern, Jim Calhoun headed to UConn in 1986. No one could have imagined the vast success he would have. He had 25-straight winning seasons as Connecticut became one of the nation’s elite college basketball programs. Coach Calhoun is exceptionally proud of the UConn players and coaches he helped develop. He had 27 players drafted by the NBA including 18 first-round picks. Born in Braintree, Massachusetts, Coach Calhoun is a graduate of Braintree High School and American International College in Springfield. He began his coaching career at Old Lyme High School in Connecticut. He then coached at Westport and Dedham High Schools in Massachusetts before becoming the head coach at Northeastern in 1972. Jim Calhoun and his wife Pat live in Pomfret, Connecticut. They have two sons and six grandchildren. Coach Calhoun has known Head of School Charlie Cahn for several years following recruiting visits to Suffield Academy. He has always been complimentary to Charlie about the school’s overall quality and warmth.