One of the most successful coaches in the history of Division II basketball, Stan Spirou recently wrapped up his 28th season as head coach at Southern New Hampshire University in 2012-13. 

Spirou became the sixth coach in New England men's college basketball history to win 500 career games when the Penmen opened the 2010-11 season with a 76-65 win over Thomas College.  The winningest coach in the history of Penmen basketball as well as the winningest coach in New Hampshire history, Spirou owns a 541-290 career record and his winning percentage of .651 ranks among the active Division II leaders. He has recorded 14 20-win seasons and is one of only 13 active Division II coaches with at least 500 career victories.  His 541 wins place him second among active Northeast-10 coaches.

The 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1999 New England Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year, Spirou has averaged an impressive 19.3 wins per season and has led the program to 15 NCAA Tournament appearances, four NCAA Regional titles and six NECC Tournament championships. In addition, he was named the 1994 national Coach of the Year by Division II Bulletin.

In 2012-13, Spirou guided the Penmen to their first-ever Northeast-10 tournament title and the seventh conference title SNHU has won during Spirou's tenure.  Under his tutelage, the Penmen won six New England Collegiate Conference titles (1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999).

From 1992 to 1995 Spirou guided SNHU to an impressive 84-15 record and three-straight appearances in the "Elite Eight" of the NCAA Tournament. Also during that span, SNHU became the first team in the history of the NECC to capture three-straight league tournament titles.

Well respected throughout New England, Spirou served as President of the New England Basketball Coaches Association from 1994 to 1996.

Spirou was named head coach at SNHU on July 2, 1985 and led the Penmen to a 24-7 mark in his rookie season. A year later he would earn New England Division II Coach of the Year honors after piloting SNHU to a 24-8 record and a NCAA Regional title.

Success has been the common denominator wherever Spirou has coached, first while building Manchester Central High School into a state power, and later as an assistant coach at SNHU under Tom Sullivan. Spirou compiled a four-year record of 80-22 at Central and led the Little Green to a pair of Class L state titles in 1979 and 1981 before joining Sullivan's staff in 1982. He was inducted into the Central High School Hall of Fame on September 25, 1998.

He earned a basketball scholarship to Keene State College, where he lettered two years for the Owls. He received his bachelor's degree in history from KSC in 1974 and later earned a master's degree in school administration from Antioch University in 1979.

An avid golfer, Spirou is also involved in numerous activities in the Manchester community. He is the director of the popular New Hampshire All-Star Basketball Camp which runs every summer at SNHU, and has also served as an honorary coach of the New Hampshire Special Olympics team. In addition, he holds free basketball clinics in his native country of Greece every summer.

A resident of Manchester, he was inducted into the Queen City Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995.   He was also named to the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in October, 2009 and was inducted into the AHEPA Hellenic Athletic Hall of Fame in July, 2011.  He and his wife Patricia, a marketing professor in the University's School of Business, have three children. Twin daughters Kelly and Christina are graduates of the University of New Hampshire, while Chuck is a graduate of SNHU.

Jay Dufour enters his 28th season as assistant men's basketball coach at SNHU in the fall of 2012.

Prior to joining Stan Spirou's staff at SNHU, Dufour ran the freshman and junior varsity programs at Manchester Central High School and also assisted Spirou during his four-year stint as head coach. Upon succeeding Spirou as varsity coach in 1982, Dufour continued Central's winning tradition by leading the Little Green to the NHIAA Class L State Tournament semifinals (1983) and quarterfinals (1984, 1985) in his three years on the job.

Dufour was named assistant coach at SNHU in 1985 and helped guide the Penmen to a 24-7 record and their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 1981. Dufour also serves as assistant director of the popular New Hampshire All-Star Basketball Camp, which runs every summer at SNHU.

"There is no one else I would want next to me during critical situations of the game," said Spirou.

A 1970 graduate of Keene State College, Dufour received his master's degree in education from Suffolk University in 1974 and recently retired as a member of the faculty at Central High School. He resides in Hooksett, N.H. with his wife Nancy. Their daughter Martha received her bachelor's and master's degree from the University of New Hampshire, while their son Matt is a graduate of Brown University.

Jeff Gore, a 1993 graduate of the College of St. Rose in Albany, NY, enters his 20th season as assistant men's basketball coach at SNHU this fall.

Gore concluded an outstanding four-year career at St. Rose by leading the Golden Knights to the 1993 ECAC Division II championship. A three-year starter, he closed out his career as the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,803 points, and also set the school record for most points in a game (45). His career free throw percentage of .880 ranks among the Top-10 in Division II history. A two-time New York Collegiate Athletic Conference and ECAC-South All-Star selection, he also collected honorable mention NABC All-America honors as a junior and senior. Gore was inducted into the Saint Rose Hall of Fame in the summer of 2007.

A native of New Haven, CT, Gore attended Plainfield High School and garnered honorable mention All-America honors from USA Today after averaging 34 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists as a senior. He further developed his skills at St. Thomas More Prep, where he was a teammate of former SNHU player and assistant coach Will Flowers. He received his bachelor's degree in communication.

Gore resides in Manchester.

A familiar face to the program, Bob Duffley returned for his third stint as a member of the SNHU men's basketball coaching staff prior to the 1999-00 season. He works primarily with the development of the post players.

A native of Manchester, N.H., he spent three years (1996-99) as an assistant coach at the University of New Hampshire before returning to the SNHU bench.

Duffley originally joined the SNHU staff in 1988 and helped the Penmen to four post-season tournaments during his five years with the program. He spent one season as head men's basketball coach at New England College, before returning to SNHU for the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons.

A graduate of Trinity High School, he was a four-year member of the basketball team and earned All-State honors in 1982. He played at St. Leo College from 1982 to 1984, before transferring to Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He received his bachelor's degree in psychology from Dalhousie in 1987 and went on to earn his MBA from SNHU.

Duffley resides in Manchester with his wife Heather and sons Gordon and Collin.

Namdi Williams, who concluded his career with the Southern New Hampshire University men's basketball program in 2004, enters his ninth season as a member of Stan Spirou's coaching staff in 2012-13.

A native of Newark, N.J., Williams persevered through a career marred by injuries. His dedication, as well as his on and off the court leadership, made him one of the more inspirational players on the team in recent years.

He played in all 32 games during the 2003-04 season and guided the Penmen to 23 wins, the most since the 1996-97 season, and a second-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. He scored in double figures seven times and contributed to several big wins during the year. He scored 14 points in a mid-season win over NCAA Regional champion UMass Lowell and contributed 15 points in just 19 minutes in a come-from-behind road win at American International. His efforts earned him SNHU's Male Unsung Hero Award for the 2003-04 school year.

Williams played in 96 games over his career and totaled 658 points and 410 rebounds. He was a part of three (1999, 2003, 2004) NCAA Tournament teams.

Williams is a graduate of St. Thomas More School in Oakdale, CT. He was a three-year member of the varsity basketball team and also spent one season with the prep school team. He earned his bachelor's degree in business administration and is currently working towards his MBA at SNHU.