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Joe Haigh resigns as head coach at St. Francis (PA)

By Blake DuDonis

LORETTO, PA - MARCH 11: Head coach Joe Haigh of the St. Francis (PA) Red Flash yells instruction towards the court in the second half during the Championship of the Northeast Conference Basketball Tournament at DeGol Arena on March 11, 2018 in Loretto, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
LORETTO, PA - MARCH 11: Head coach Joe Haigh of the St. Francis (PA) Red Flash yells instruction towards the court in the second half during the Championship of the Northeast Conference Basketball Tournament at DeGol Arena on March 11, 2018 in Loretto, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /
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The news comes after the 7th year head coach took a leave of absence in November.

A coach who truly embraced the concept of the pace-and-space style of basketball, Joe Haigh has resigned as head coach of St. Francis (PA) in order to spend more time with his family. This season was his seventh as head coach and eleventh overall at the school. The school’s statement on his resignation can be read here.

Haigh’s Red Flash gained plenty of notoriety last March when his team fell to UConn 140-52 in the 1st round of the NCAA tournament, setting a number of records. In the loss, St. Francis (PA) shot 57 three-pointers, hitting only ten. Though the number of threes attempted caught many by surprise, the style of play is one Haigh had instilled at the Loretto, PA-based school for years and stood behind after the loss.

Haigh leaves the school with an overall record of 93-100 as the head coach, including a 66-42 record in the NEC. his 93 wins are the second most in school history.

“I’ve always tried to leave any place and situation in a better, happier space than when I arrived. I feel like I’ve been able to do that with Saint Francis,” Haigh said in an email to High Post Hoops. “When I was hired as an assistant coach, we had gone three years with four conference wins or less, and in the ensuing ten years that I’ve been an assistant and head coach, we’ve had a great run.”

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In his past 10 seasons at St. Francis (PA), the Red Flash appeared in six NEC championship games, winning three of them and advancing to the NCAA tournament. Last season, the team scored a school record 2,719 points (79.9 ppg), which ranked 17th in the country. They also made 353 three-pointers, 4th in the country.

“Our team GPA, our work in the community, our attendance at games; we’re doing great in all of those areas.  We’re coming off of a championship season, and have the talent to win another one this season. Plus, we have a great recruiting class coming in next fall,” Haigh also added. “I really do want to spend more time with my family. My daughters play high school basketball at two different schools. Between all the time that goes into preparing for games, the actual games, the travel, the recruiting; I miss so much.”

“While l know the timing isn’t great, it’s just something that I knew I needed to do at this time.”

“The future looks really promising for Red Flash women’s basketball and I wish Coach Susan and everyone in the program continued success in the coming years.”

Originally the school had announced in early November that Haigh was taking a personal leave of absence and that athletic director and former St. Francis (PA) women’s basketball coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl would serve as the interim head coach.

The team was 0-2 at the time of the announcement and has since posted an 8-10 record under Robinson Fruchtl.

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