Joe Frager is in his second season as the head coach of the Fairfield University women's basketball team, and his 11th at the collegiate level. In his first decade at the collegiate level he has built an impressive resume, including a Division II National Championship, an average of 21.1 wins per season, six Coach of the Year awards, and numerous other accolades.
All he accomplished in his first season at the helm of the Stags, was a 22-win season, the fourth highest single-season win total in program history. The Stags, who posted a win over Boston College during the campaign, finished in a second-place tie in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular season standings and advanced to the semifinals of the MAAC Tournament.
The campaign began with a 72-57 victory over Richmond, the first of five straight to open the year. The Stags' 22 victories on the year equaled the fourth most in a single-season, including 21 regular season triumphs. It marked the seventh 20-plus win season in the program's 34-year varsity history, and the first since the 2000-01 campaign. Frager stated at the beginning of the season that the goal for the year was to play the best basketball down the stretch, and that seemed to be the case, as he coached the Stags to wins in 12 of the final 16 contests, including five of six to finish the regular season.
Frager was named the program's fifth-head coach, and second at the Division I level, on April 18, 2007, coming to the Stags after a nine-year stint as the head coach at Southern Connecticut State University. Over the course of his tenure at SCSU, Frager built the Owls into a Division II powerhouse, culminating in the 2007 National Championship. That 2006-07 squad set a school record, posting a 34-2 record, including a 20-0 start and an 11-game winning streak through postseason play. His nine-year mark at SCSU was an impressive 189-83.
Frager earned instant recognition in his first year as a collegiate coach, the 1998-99 season at Southern, earning New England Collegiate Conference Co-Coach of the Year accolades. He was honored after leading the Owls to an 18-win season, and the program's first postseason berth since 1985, qualifying for the ECAC Championship.
It was the first of many personal awards that Frager would earn during his tenure at Southern Connecticut. He was named the Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year each of his last three years at SCSU. Frager received recognition from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) in 2005 and 2006, being named the Region I Coach of the Year. After capturing the 2007 National Championship, Frager earned the Molton/Women's D-II Bulletin National Coach of the Year award.
The 1999 postseason berth was the first of many for Frager, who coached the Owls to four NCAA Tournament berths, and a spot in the conference championship in each of his nine seasons. In each of his four NCAA Tournament appearances, Frager's squads have picked up at least one win. The first NCAA Tournament win of his coaching career came with a 66-63 over UMass-Lowell at the end of the 2002-03 campaign. All told, Frager has an impressive 9-3 record in NCAA Tournament play.
The 2003-04 season saw the Owls win 19 games and fall just short of an NCAA Tournament berth. Frager's team still had an impact on the national standings however, winning the statistical national title for scoring defense for the first time.
Frager's Owls wasted no time in returning to the 20-win plateau and postseason play. The 2004-05 season saw Frager lead the Owls to a 25-6 overall record and an 18-4 mark in Northeast-10 play. Frager's Owls, who finished the year ranked 21st nationally, defeated Pace, 55-33, in the NCAA Northeast Regional to cap off the season.
A year later, Frager's squad posted a SCSU record 29 wins, and
advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.
The team captured the NE-10 regular season and tournament titles on
the way to a final national ranking of 14th. And for the
second time in three years, the Owls were the statistical national
champions in scoring defense.
Frager's road to Fairfield began in 1987 when he was named the head
varsity girls' basketball coach at Seymour High School. Over
the next 11 seasons his teams compiled an impressive 208-58 record,
for a winning percentage of .782, and three state titles.
Frager found a winning way at Seymour, with 11 straight appearances
in the CIAC tournament and eight consecutive trips to the
quarterfinals or beyond. His charges put together a winning streak
of 52 straight games during the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons, with
identical 26-0 records, and a pair of state titles. Frager
led the Wildcats to the first state title in 1993.
A native of Shelton, Conn., Frager earned a Bachelor's Degree in
Political Science from the University of Connecticut in 1984.
In 1994 he earned a Master's Degree in Social Sciences from SCSU.
Frager, and his wife Shirley, reside in Southbury, Conn., with their sons, Brendan (14), and Kevin (11).
