Brendan Murphy Named First Head Coach of Sacred Heart Men's Rowing
10/6/2026 3:49:00 PM | Men's Rowing
Brendan Murphy has been named the first head coach of Sacred Heart University's varsity men's rowing program.
Brendan Murphy has been named the first head coach of Sacred Heart University's varsity men's rowing program. He brings more than 15 years in the sport as an athlete, coach and industry professional.
Murphy began his collegiate coaching career as a volunteer assistant with Cornell's men's heavyweight program. From there, helping programs grow became the focus of his career. At Trinity College and then Marietta College, he joined as the first assistant coach at a pivotal moment for each team. He worked alongside the head coach on recruiting, training, fleet management and logistics. He spent three years helping Trinity's men's team build momentum and depth, then three more supporting Marietta's ambitious push to compete at the Division I level.
Most recently, Murphy spent four years with Vespoli USA, the New Haven-based shell manufacturer. There he worked with collegiate, club and scholastic programs across the Northeast to build and manage their fleets. That experience, and the relationships that came with it, have prepared him to build Sacred Heart's program from the ground up.
His roots in program building go back to high school, where he was a founding member of his school's rowing team. He went on to become a four-year oarsman and Eastern Sprints medalist at Syracuse, graduating in 2014 with a degree in sociology. He is a USRowing Level 2 certified coach.
"Building a program from the very beginning is a rare opportunity, and I'm excited to get started," said Murphy. "I want to thank Vice President and Director of Athletics Judy Ann Riccio, Director of Rowing and Women's Head Coach Luke Wilhelm and everyone in Sacred Heart athletics for their trust and support. Sacred Heart's commitment to its student-athletes is clear, and I'm looking forward to working together to build this program and the traditions that will come with it.""I am very excited to announce Coach Murphy as the leader to take us into a new era for rowing at SHU," said Director of Rowing and Women's Head Coach, Lucas Wilhelm. "We have an amazing staff from top to bottom that can all see the future for Sacred Heart Rowing to be bright. He immediately resonated with what Coach McCarron, the administration and myself want to build here, and I can't wait to help shove the first men's crews off the dock next fall. If you are a young man looking for his next adventure, reach out to Brendan and become a pioneer."
