BRONX, N.Y. — Fordham University Director of Athletics David Roach announced changes to the water polo coaching staff as Brian Bacharach has been promoted to head coach with Bill Harris moving to Associate Head Coach.
“It’s an exciting time for our Water Polo program,” said Roach. “Under Bill Harris and Brian Bacharach’s leadership the team has had much recent success. That will continue with Coaches Bacharach and Harris switching roles as Brian will now be the head coach. Brian’s experience as a student-athlete at California and his time as an assistant have prepared him well to be Fordham’s head coach.”
Bacharach has been a part of the Rams’ coach staff since 2013, serving five years as an assistant coach, before moving up to associate head coach in 2018, and co-head coach in 2019.
“I am honored and humbled to be promoted to this position and want to thank Coach Harris, David Roach, Ed Kull, and the entire administration for putting their faith in me to carry Fordham water polo into the future,” said Bacharach. “This transition plan was put together by Coach Harris several years ago, wholeheartedly embraced by athletic director David Roach and Ed Kull, and all those in the administration. Coach Harris has been a great mentor and I am thrilled that we will continue to work together.”
Under Bacharach and Harris as co-head coaches in 2019, the Fordham water polo team continued its upward trend into a Top 20 nationally-ranked program. The Rams posted 24 wins, five of which were over ranked opponents, and reached as high as #16 in the polls for a portion of the season. The duo was named the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC)-East Region Coach of the Year and had three players named Honorable Mention All-America selections by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC).
In their time together as the Rams’ coaching staff, Bacharach and Harris have seen sustained success, posting three straight winning seasons from 2015-17, six straight seasons of at least 16 wins (2014-19), and a top 20 national ranking in multiple seasons for the first time since the 1980s. The team has also been recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for its Academic Progress Rate (APR) score six times.
Prior to Fordham, Bacharach was an assistant coach at Loyola Marymount University, where he helped guide the Lions to the 2010 Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Championship, after a highly successful career at the University of California. He finished his career at Cal with 141 career goals, including a team-best two in the 2006 NCAA National Championship, which Cal defeated USC. It was the Bears 12th national title and Bacharach was one of the Bears’ team captains.
As a senior for the Bears in 2006, he was an ACWPC Honorable Mention All-America selection, as well as a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) All-Academic and an ACWPC All-Academic selection. For his career, he was a four-time MPSF All-Academic and ACWPC All-Academic selection.
After graduating Cal in the Spring of 2007, Bacharach went on to play professionally in Australia for the Cronulla Sharks.
“From the great staff that helps our student-athletes internally to the very supportive alumni community, we are all eager to continue our climb to be one of the best teams on the east coast. Our student-athletes work hard in both the classroom and pool to achieve the high standard that has been set. It is incredibly rewarding to be able to help these players achieve those goals and go on to be great members of society,” said Bacharach.
Harris, who will remain on staff as Associate Head Coach, has served as the Rams’ head coach since 2004 and rates as one of the winningest coaches in the program’s history, totaling 208 wins over 16 seasons. The team won at least 16 games in eight of those seasons, and was honored three times as the conference Coach of the Year by the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA).
A total of 28 Rams have received All-Conference accolades since 2004 to go along with nine ACWPC Honorable Mention All-America and one College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America honors.
Release courtesy Fordham University Athletics Communications
