Moorestown-native Matt Langel has etched his name into history books as a basketball player, now he’ll do it as a coach.
The 32-year-old father of two has spent the last five years as an assistant coach for Temple University, but soon he’ll be making his way to New York to become the 20th head coach in the 111-year history of Colgate University basketball.
“We are pleased to announce the hiring of Matt Langel,” said Colgate University Director of Athletics David Roach. “I’m excited about the future of Colgate basketball with Matt as our head coach. We all look forward to the Langel’s joining the Colgate Athletic family.”
At Temple, Langel worked under the tutelage of Fran Dunphy, who was recently named the Eastern College Coach of the Year after guiding the Owls to their fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
“I’m thrilled for Matt. Colgate gets a person with great character who is very wise and can be a mentor to all of his student athletes,” Dunphy said.
Langel was also a two-year member of Dunphy’s Penn staff where he helped guide his alma mater to two consecutive Ivy League Championships.
Langel, a 2000 graduate of Penn’s Wharton School of Business, helped lead the Quakers to two Ivy League titles and NCAA Tournament appearances during his four-year career. The Quakers went 27–1 in Ivy League action in his junior and senior campaigns and sported a 42–14 overall record.
Langel was named Ivy League and Big Five Player of the Week numerous times and received the Big Five’s Most Improved Player award. He was also named to the Holiday Festival All-Tournament team in 1998 and the University of California Golden Bear Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team in 1999.
Langel appears in Penn record books in several different categories. He’s a member of the 1,000-point club with 1,191 points in a red and blue uniform. He stands second all-time in Penn basketball history in three-pointers made in a game with eight, is eighth in three-pointers made in a season with 70, and fourth in career three-pointers made with 201.
Upon graduation, Langel was drafted by Atlantic City of the USBL in 2000 and worked out in the Seattle SuperSonics camp. He then went overseas to play professionally in Europe, for Chene BC in Switzerland and ALM Evreux Basket in France Pro A.
He participated in the Philadelphia 76ers summer camp in 2001, but returned to Europe to play for the MBC and Hagan in German Bundesliga I. His last professional stop before returning to Penn as an assistant coach was with the Eiffel Towers in Holland.
Langel was also a member of the Friars Senior Society and the University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee while at Penn.
