Don Harnum, the 2002 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, returns for his seventh season as head coach of the Rider University Broncs. Prior to being named Rider's 11th men's basketball head coach, Harnum served eight years at Rider as an assistant and associate head coach, helping the Broncs win a pair of conference championships and make two trips to the NCAA National Championship Tournament.

Harnum has compiled 58 MAAC wins, 91 wins overall, and last season led Rider to a 5-4 non-conference record.

In 2002 Harnum took a team ranked seventh in the conference in the preseason polls with five new faces and won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season title to earn the top seed in the Championship Tournament.

Under Harnum, Rider won 13 conference games in 2002, the best mark for the Broncs since joining the MAAC, and Harnum guided the Broncs to a 9-1 record in Alumni Gym that year.

In 1997-98 there were 61 new head coaches in Division I of the NCAA. Of those 61, Rider University head coach Don Harnum compiled the 12th best record (18-10). Of those 61 new head coaches, 21, including Harnum, had never been a Division I head coach before, and only three of those, North Carolina's Bill Guthridge (34-4), Georgia's Ron Jirsa (20-15) and Wyoming's Larry Shyatt (19-9), enjoyed better inaugural seasons.

While at Rider Harnum has recruited and coached 14 all-rookie team members, including the 2002 MAAC Rookie of the Year, and watched all of his seniors graduate. In his first season as head coach he led the Broncs to their only National Invitation Tournament.