In the course of five seasons as head coach, Jay Wright has helped Villanova add new chapters to a rich and storied basketball history.

In 2005-06, the Wildcats catalogued an impressive array of accomplishments despite the October loss of All-Big East forward Curtis Sumpter to season-ending knee surgery. Utilizing a four guard lineup, Villanova finished with 28 wins, the most in school history, earning a share of the Big East Conference regular season title along the way. It spent the entire season ranked in the top 10 of both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN polls, climbing as high as No. 2 in February. The Wildcats were rewarded with the first NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed in the program's history and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1988.

There were plenty of individual highlights too. Senior guard Randy Foye was named a consensus first team All-American and a Wooden Award finalist as well as Big East player of the year. Allan Ray was a consensus All-American, Naismith Award finalist and first team All Big East choice. Wright received national coach of the year honors from CBS/Chevrolet; the Naismith Awards; and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). The native of Churchville, Pa., was also named Big East Coach of the Year and earned the Harry Litwack Award as the Eastern College Coach of the Year from the Herb Good Club in Philadelphia.

In many respects, it was the culmination of a cycle of growth spawned when Wright returned to the university he had first served as an assistant coach to Rollie Massimino from 1987-92. From the day of his arrival as head coach on March 27, 2001 Wright's agenda was clear.

"We want to build an attitude of playing hard and playing together and playing with great passion," he stated then. "Most importantly, we want our guys to play with a pride in representing Villanova."

Today those qualities indeed define Villanova basketball.

The first three seasons of Wright's head coaching tenure at Villanova offered snapshots of promise. In 2001-02, the Wildcats surprised observers by recording 19 victories, including a win over No. 16 UCLA, and reaching the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament.

The next two seasons were marked by peaks and valleys as a 2002 recruiting class ranked among the nation's best acclimated itself to college. Yet Villanova continued its postseason streak, earning NIT bids in both 2003 and 2004 while also reaching the Big East Tournament semifinals in 2004.

In 2004-05, the Wildcats enjoyed a breakthrough campaign. The club overcame a host of significant injuries to emerge as a force in the Big East Conference, recording six victories over nationally ranked teams. In its Big East opener, the Wildcats defeated No. 21 West Virginia 84-46. Three weeks later, on a snowy afternoon at the Wachovia Center, Villanova got America's attention with an 83-62 victory over No. 2 Kansas. In February, there were wins over No. 17 Pittsburgh and No. 3 Boston College in the Pavilion.

Villanova completed the regular season with a 21-6 record (.778), its best winning percentage since 1995-96. It was awarded the school's first NCAA Tournament bid since 1999 and came up with victories over Mountain West Tournament champion New Mexico and Southeastern Conference Tournament champion Florida to reach the regional semifinal. Without Sumpter, who suffered a torn knee ligament in the win over the Gators, Villanova nearly upended top seed and eventual NCAA champion North Carolina, dropping a 67-66 decision that was not decided until the final horn sounded.

Wright was named Philadelphia Big Five Eastern College Coach of the Year for his efforts in leading VU to a 24-8 mark in 2004-05.

Under Wright, Villanova basketball has grown in other ways. One of Wright's first priorities was to reach out to former Wildcat players to insure that they are an active part of the program. Towards that end, Wright's staff hosts an annual golf outing and alumni game as part of the university's basketball "Summer Jam".

Another clear sign of growth is that three former members of Wright's Villanova staff have now been entrusted to lead other programs. Joe Jones, a Villanova assistant coach from 1997-2003, is the head coach at Columbia. Billy Lange, a part of Wright's Wildcat staff from 2001-04, is the head coach at the United States Naval Academy and former associate head coach Fred Hill was named head coach at Rutgers in the spring of 2006.

This marks Wright's second stint at Villanova. He served as an assistant to former head coach Rollie Massimino for five seasons before moving on to the University of Nevada- Las Vegas for two more years as an assistant coach from 1992-94.

In 1994, Wright landed his first head coaching position. Hofstra University hired him to breathe life into a program that had struggled through the late 1980s and into the early part of the 1990s. Piece by piece, Wright transformed the Pride into a potent force in the America East Conference. This period was capped by a three-year run, which concluded in 2001, that saw Hofstra post a 72-22 (.766) record and make a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.

Wright earned America East Coach of the Year honors in both 1999-2000 and 2000-01. He was also tabbed Eastern Basketball's Coach of the Year in 1999-2000.

Two of Wright's Hofstra players have gone on to the National Basketball Association. Guard Speedy Claxton was the No. 1 draft choice of the Philadelphia 76ers in 2000 and Norman Richardson joined the Indiana Pacers in 2001. Claxton now plays for the New Orleans Hornets.

At Hofstra, Wright's teams improved on an annual basis, culminating in a 26-5 season of 2000-01. In each of Wright's last six seasons on Long Island, the team improved its victory total from the previous year. Under Wright's watch Claxton became only the second sophomore in school history to win America East Player of the Year honors and the Pride captured the first ECAC Holiday Festival in school history in 1998, defeating Pennsylvania and Georgia Tech.

Tom Pecora, who was by Wright's side throughout the seven seasons on Long Island, succeeded Wright as head coach. He is the fourth former Wright aide now directing a Division I program.

Academic success has been a key component of Wright's coaching career. Every player recruited by Wright as a head coach at Villanova and Hofstra has earned his college degree.

Since becoming a head coach, Wright has also taken time out to work with USA Basketball. In August 2005 he served as head coach for the United States' entry in the World University Games which earned a gold medal. Team USA was dominant in amassing an 8-0 record by an average margin of victory of 29.9 points per game. For his efforts Wright was named USA Basketball Co-Developmental Coach of the Year.

Previously, Wright served as an assistant coach under Syracuse University head coach Jim Boeheim for the USA Basketball World Championship for Young Men Qualifying Team in 2000.

Wright spent five years on the Main Line from 1987-92. He performed a wide range of assignments for Massimino, including scouting, on-court coaching and recruiting. During his time at Villanova the Wildcats made three NCAA Tournament appearances and reached the Elite Eight in 1988.

Wright's coaching career began in 1984 at the University of Rochester. He also served as an aide to Eddie Burke at Drexel University.

A 1983 graduate of Bucknell University with degrees in economics and sociology, Wright was a four-year letterman in basketball. He earned both the Benton A. Kribbs Most Valuable Player and the Macolm E. Musser Leadership Awards as an undergraduate. Following graduation, Wright worked as an administrative assistant with the Philadelphia Stars football team that captured the 1983 United States Football League championship. Since returning to Philadelphia, Wright has joined forces with his fellow Division I head coaches in the fight against cancer. Through the work of the head coaches at Drexel, La Salle, Penn, Saint Joseph's, Temple and Villanova, the Philadelphia chapter of Coaches vs. Cancer has become one of the top fundraising groups in that organization.

The product of Churchville, Pa., attended Council Rock High School. He is married to the former Patricia Reilly (Villanova class of 1983). The Wrights have two sons, Taylor (13), Colin (11), and a daughter, Reilly (7).