Hall of Fame
A native of Pavilion, NY and a graduate of SUNY Brockport, Bob McVean joined the RIT staff in 1983-84 after five years at Eisenhower College. He has more wins than any RIT men’s basketball coach. He retired in 2024 after 41 seasons at the RIT helm. During that time,. He won 556 games, while losing 460.
He has taken his teams to the NCAA Division III Tournament six times, advancing to the round of 16 in 1996-97. His teams have appeared in 11 ECAC Tournaments, winning titles in 1992-93 and 2002-03. He has produced five All-Americans, including three-time honoree Craig Jones (who was also NCAA Player of the Year), Alberto Montanez, Charlie Bartlett, Aaron Morrison and Mark Carson, who was also an Academic All-American. Six times McVean has been named Empire Athletic Association/Empire 8 Coach of the Year.
He has guided his teams to six 20-plus winning seasons. The 1996-97 team set the school record for most wins with 24. In 2008-09 the team put together an Empire 8 consecutive win streak of 11 games. Three players have been named Empire 8 Players of the Year. Seven Tigers earned Empire 8 Rookie of the Year honors. Four players have been named NABC All-Americans and 11 were named All-ECAC. During his tenure, 64 players have garnered All-Empire 8 honors.
He and his wife Debbie live in Penfield, NY. They have three children (Carrie, Tara and Scott) and five grandchildren.
