After disappointing performances the last few seasons, Fordham made a head coaching change by reliving Keith Urgo a couple weeks ago. After a nationwide search, the Rams appear ready to head in a brand new direction, potentially handing the keys to the program to longtime Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff.
A New York native who attended Albany in the mid-90’s, Senderoff got into coaching soon after as a grad assistant to Herb Sendek at Miami (OH). His first full-time gig was actually as a Fordham assistant from 1997 to 1999 before later jobs with Yale and Towson.
Senderoff has spent much of the last two decades on the Kent State coaching staff, with a pair of assistant coaching stints sandwiching a brief role at Indiana. While he was part of Kelvin Sampson’s recruiting scandal with the Hoosiers, it didn’t have a devastating effect on his coaching career and he’s bounced back nicely at Kent State.
The Golden Flashes promoted him to head coach in 2011 and reaped the benefits of that decision. The program had decent play throughout his fourteen seasons, with trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2016 and 2023 and a number of other postseason appearances. Most notably, Senderoff never had a season where his team finished below .500.
Senderoff won 288 games across his fourteen seasons, with reliable success in the MAC all these years. Now he’ll head back to his home state and inherit a Fordham program near or at the bottom of the A-10 in recent years. The Rams certainly needed a fresh face and bring someone back to town who has built a winning culture and has a solid recruiting background.
Whether or not Senderoff can have success at Fordham remains to be seen, but the Rams made a really great hire, bringing aboard one of the best MAC coaches in recent years. However, this move also leaves a hole at Kent State. Senderoff has had some talented coaches on his staff over the years and there are some likely names out there, either current or former assistants. Will this move bring positive change to Fordham and can the Golden Flashes remain a contender for MAC championships?