Tim Sweeney begins his sixth season as a member of Matt Matheny's staff in 2014-15, as the Phoenix begins its inaugural year in the Colonial Athletic Association. Sweeney was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2013-14 season.
In 2013-14, Sweeney helped the Phoenix to an 18-14 record, including an 11-5 mark against league competition. The team's eight-game winning streak tied the 2012-13 and 2005-06 teams for the longest winning streak during Elon's Division I era. Elon finished the year with four 1,000-point scorers on its roster in Lucas Troutman, Jack Isenbarger, Sebastian Koch and Ryley Beaumont, becoming only the third school in the nation to accomplish such a feat. Elon ended the year ranked first in the conference in free throw percentage (87th nationally) at 72.3 percent and second in the league (34th nationally) in threes per game at 8.0.
In 2012-13, Sweeney helped the maroon and gold to 21 victories and the Southern Conference North Division title. Elon also made its first-ever postseason appearance at the Division I level in 2013 when it earned an invitation to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT).
At Elon, Sweeney has served a key role in the rebuilding efforts of the Phoenix program. His work in recruiting has helped the maroon and gold secure talented and impactful freshman classes in every season since arriving on campus.
Sweeney came to the Phoenix program following one season with the Bucknell Bison of the Patriot League. Prior to his year at Bucknell, Sweeney served two seasons with Matheny at Davidson College. Sweeney began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at the University of Rochester, his alma mater, for three seasons.
“Tim is a blue collar basketball coach,” stated Matheny. “He’ll roll up his sleeves and grind it out on the court, in the recruiting world and in the Elon community. Tim has a great basketball mind and a great way of imparting that knowledge to the student-athlete.”
In his two seasons at Davidson, Sweeney was a part of a Wildcats program that went 58-12, won two SoCon titles and made two NCAA Tournament appearances. In his last year as a member of the Davidson staff, the Wildcats advanced to the Elite Eight where they fell just short of knocking off eventual national champion Kansas.
Sweeney was on Davidson’s staff as Stephen Curry became just the fourth player in NCAA history to score 30 or more points in his first four NCAA Tournament games. Curry went on to be a second team All-America choice by The Associated Press, Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News.
In addition to his role in game execution, scouting and player development, Sweeney coordinated Davidson’s underclassman recruiting efforts, co-directed the team’s summer camp, managed team travel, coordinated the program’s digital scouting system and edited the team newsletter.
In his time at Rochester (2003-06), the Yellowjackets produced a 66-16 record and captured University Athletic Association championships in 2004 and 2005. The program advanced to the Division III national title game in 2005 and made it to the Sweet 16 in 2004.
“As a coaching staff at Elon, we are fortunate to work with such an outstanding group of student-athletes and a university community that is so deeply committed to achieving success in all areas,” commented Sweeney. “The future of Elon basketball, from our players’ hard work and consistent improvement to the recent renovations of our arena, is extremely bright.”
During his playing days at Rochester, Sweeney was a four-year All-UAA guard and team captain as both a junior and senior. He helped lead his teams to a combined 77-30 record along with a trip to the Division III Final Four in 2002 and the Sweet 16 in 2003. He ranks among the top-10 in school history in assists, three-point field goals and free throw percentage. Sweeney was also a three-time UAA All-Academic Team member and served as vice president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He graduated cum laude with a degree in political science in 2003.
