University of Pennsylvania Athletics

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER ($): Nat Graham Has Learned Lessons That Extend Far Beyond The Basketball Court (1/31/2025)

Nat Graham returned to his alma mater when he was hired to the men's basketball coaching staff in May 2014. In September 2018, Graham was promoted to the position of K. Gelb Family Associate Head Coach of Men's Basketball.

With Graham on staff, Penn has played in five of the six Ivy League Tournaments played to date, one of just three programs to make such a claim (the others are Yale and Princeton). In addition, Penn players have totaled 15 All-Ivy honors in that time including AJ Brodeur being named co-Ivy League Player of the Year in 2019-20 and Jordan Dingle earning Ivy Rookie of the Year honors in 2019-20 and Player of the Year honors from the Ivy League, the Philadelphia Big 5, and the ECAC in 2022-23 when he finished the season ranked second nationally in points per game (23.4).

In 2017-18, Penn went 24-9 overall and won a share of the Ivy League title with a 12-2 mark in conference play. The Quakers then won the Ivy League Tournament with wins over Yale and co-champion Harvard, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 11 years where they lost 76-60 to top-seeded Kansas in Wichita, Kan. The next season, Penn went a perfect 4-0 in Philadelphia Big 5 play including a win over defending NCAA champion Villanova at The Palestra and road victories at La Salle and Temple. It was the Quakers' first unbeaten Big 5 campaign since 2001-02 and just the second since 1973-74.

Graham's impact on the Penn community extends well beyond The Palestra. In June 2022 he was honored with the University's Supplier Diversity Impact Award, which honors faculty and staff who have made outstanding contributions in the areas of supplier diversity and inclusion.
 
Graham returned to his alma mater after spending four seasons at Boston College under current Penn head coach Steve Donahue, three of those as associate head coach. He joined the Eagles for the 2010-11 season after serving the previous five seasons as an assistant coach under Donahue at Cornell.
 
Graham helped guide the Big Red to 111 victories and three Ivy League titles in his five years. In 2009-10, Cornell finished with a 29-5 mark and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The Big Red established school records for wins, points (2,545), three-pointers (326), and blocked shots (127). The season marked the program’s third straight 20-win campaign.
 
In 2008-09, Cornell won all 13 home games, a school record, while in 2007-08 the Big Red won a school-best 16 consecutive contests.
 
Prior to joining Donahue at Cornell, Graham spent one season (1999-2000) as an assistant coach at the University of Western Ontario and one year (2004-05) as an assistant coach at the University of Toronto.
 
Graham was a two-year letterman (1993-95) at the University of Pennsylvania -- playing for the Quakers when Coach Donahue was an assistant -- and was a member of two undefeated Ivy League championship teams. Penn went a combined 47-9 overall during those two seasons, and earned an NCAA Tournament win over Nebraska in 1994.
 
Graham transferred to the University of Western Ontario following the 1994-95 season, and was a two-time Ontario University Athletics West first-team selection with the Mustangs. A two-year team captain, he also earned All-Canadian accolades in 1998-99. After graduation, Graham played two years of professional ball in Ireland and Denmark.
 
Graham graduated from Penn in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. He earned his master’s degree in multicultural education from Eastern University in 2009.
 
Graham graduated from Coral Gables High School in Miami, Fla.
 
Graham and his wife, Kelly, have one daughter, Noelle, and two sons, Silas and Dashiell.