Gannon University has hired Jordan Fee as the Golden Knights’ next men’s basketball head coach.
Gannon made the announcement at a press conference on Wednesday, April 12, in the Old Main Board Room. Fee, 34, becomes the 20th head coach in the history of the men’s basketball program.
Fee joins Gannon after serving as the Associate Head Coach for the NCAA Division II champion Nova Southeastern University men’s basketball team. He has played an integral role in the Florida school’s rise to national prominence and helped head coach Jim Crutchfield lead the Sharks to an unblemished 36-0 record in 2022-23.
“I’m so honored and humbled to be joining the Gannon University family,” Fee said. “My wife, Jaclyn, and I are excited to be back home and look forward to being a part of the Erie community. I want to thank Dr. Keith Taylor, Dr. Walter Iwanenko, Athletics Director Lisa Goddard McGuirk, and the entire committee for the opportunity to lead Gannon’s basketball team. The commitment and vision from the administration has been very clear throughout this process.”
“We are excited to welcome Coach Jordan Fee to Gannon,” said Goddard McGuirk. “He is committed to excellence in academics, athletics, the community and the student-athlete experience. Coach Fee’s experience competing and coaching at some of the nation’s best D-II men’s basketball programs will help propel our program forward. He understands and values the rich history of Gannon men’s basketball and will work tirelessly to uphold the tradition.”
“We are happy to welcome Jordan Fee to Gannon University,” said Keith Taylor, Ph.D., university president. “We look forward to seeing him lead our program and uphold the terrific tradition of Gannon basketball excellence.”
Fee has worked as an assistant coach at Nova Southeastern since 2015 and has helped transform a Sharks program that finished 6-20 in 2016-17 into a national powerhouse that has posted a 122-11 record over the past four seasons. That record includes a 69-1 mark over the past two seasons.
Using a relentless, up-tempo style of play, the Sharks led NCAA Division II by scoring an average of 102.5 points per game in 2022-23 and led the nation in scoring margin the past two seasons when Nova Southeastern won by an average margin of 25.7 points and 19.5 points per game, respectively.
Fee has been instrumental in attracting top student-athletes to Nova Southeastern. He recruited and signed forward RJ Sunahara, who was named NABC Player of the Year after this past season. Fee also recruited and signed forward Sekou Sylla, who was voted D2CCA Player of the Year after the 2021-22 season.
“Jordan has been a part of a remarkable program at Nova Southeastern and we are optimistic for what he can bring to Gannon,” said Walter Iwanenko, Ph.D., provost and vice president for student experience. “His understanding of recruitment and his focus on developing individuals – not just as players but as young men – aligns with our goals for our athletics programs.”
Since 2020, Fee has been selected by Silver Waves Media as one of the 50 most impactful D2 Assistants in America, as well as NABC’s 30-Under-30 Team– which acknowledges 30 of the most outstanding men’s college basketball coaches under the age of 30 across all divisions– and selected by CoachStat.net ranking sixth in the Top-25 DII/III assistant coaches poll of top coaches under the age of 35 in the southeast region.
DESPITE SPENDING EIGHT SEASONS IN DAVIE, FLA., WITH NOVA SOUTHEASTERN, FEE HAS A BACKGROUND FROM WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA.
He attended Grove City High School from 2003-07 and was a basketball standout while playing under his father, Don Fee, a Grove City legend who guided the program to more than 400 wins. Jordan Fee started four seasons at point guard, set the school record for assists, scored more than 1,200 career points and was named All-State after he helped Grove City reach the 2007 PIAA semifinals.
Jordan Fee became a Gannon fan as a youngster in the early 2000s when his father and he would drive north on Interstate-79 to Erie to watch Josh Morgan play for the Golden Knights. Morgan, a 2018 Gannon Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, had been a star for Don Fee at Grove City High School. Jordan Fee enjoyed attending the games and loved the intense atmosphere at then-Hammermill Center. He wants to add to Gannon’s storied basketball history at the Highmark Events Center.
“Growing up watching Gannon basketball, I’m aware of the rich tradition that exists here, and I will do everything I can do to build upon that tradition,” Fee said. “I look forward to meeting and working with everyone involved with Gannon basketball. We will do things the right way and work tirelessly to put a product on the court and in the classroom that Golden Knight fans and alumni will be proud of.”
Fee received an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy, and he served as a team captain while helping Air Force Preparatory School to a 19-6 record. He transferred to the University of Detroit Mercy from 2008-10 and later transferred to West Liberty University, where he was part of a program that went 65-4 in two seasons and reached the Elite Eight twice under Jim Crutchfield.
Following his playing career, he remained at West Liberty as a student assistant coach in 2012-13 before receiving his Bachelor of Science in Physical Education/Health Education in 2013.
Fee coached for one season as a graduate assistant at Clarion University in 2013-14 and then spent the 2014-15 season as a graduate assistant at Detroit Mercy. He received his Master of Arts in Liberal Studies/Athletic Leadership in 2015.
From there, Fee was hired by Nova Southeastern where his duties over the past eight seasons have included serving as a talent evaluator and lead recruiter in addition to handling film breakdown, scheduling, travel and player development, among other responsibilities.
He was originally hired by NSU head coach Gary Tuell in the summer of 2015. Fee was retained on the staff in 2017 when Nova Southeastern hired Crutchfield, Fee’s former coach at West Liberty. Fee was promoted to Associate Head Coach before the 2022-23 season.
