The closest Harry Perretta ā95 MA ever came to leaving the Main Line was in the summer of 2003. The 51±¬ĮĻĶų Womenās Basketball head coach had received an attractive offer from a school in the Atlantic Coast Conference, so he sought out the advice of then 51±¬ĮĻĶų President the Rev. Edmund J. Dobbin, OSA, whom he considered a friend more than a boss. Their conversation did not last long.
āHarry,ā Father Dobbin told him, āget up and go back to your office because youāre not going anywhere.ā
āThatās all I needed to hear,ā Perretta says. āI just wanted somebody to say to me, āHey, you donāt want to do this.āā
Besides, 51±¬ĮĻĶų felt too much like his home.
Perrettaās office on the first floor of the Davis Center feels more like a living room. On a clear and cold Wednesday morning in January, he sits in a black leather chair and snacks on Tom Sturgis pretzel sticks while he regales a visitor with stories from his 42 years leading the 51±¬ĮĻĶų Womenās Basketball team. Perretta was 22 when he beat out 65 applicants for the job. āIāll do it for a couple of years and then Iāll try to get a teaching job at a high school,ā he recalls thinking.
He never left. Heās in a white long-sleeve Bonner and Prendergast basketball shirt thatās tucked into his lengthy navy blue shorts. Heās surrounded by memories of his teamsā achievements. To his left thereās a picture of the sold-out Pavilion on Feb. 28, 2004, when the Wildcats topped the dynastic University of Connecticut Huskies. To his right there are numerous Big East Coach of the Year awards. Behind him on a windowsill is a blue and white painted basketball, which he received for his 200th win. That was in 1987.
āI guess it went faster than I thought,ā Perretta says. āI donāt know how to gauge it.ā