Pittsburgh, Pa. – Duquesne University head men's basketball coach Dru Joyce III announced Wednesday that Karl Hobbs has joined the coaching staff as an assistant coach.

Hobbs, a native of Roxbury, Mass., brings almost 40 years of experience to the Duquesne bench. He spent the last three seasons as associate head coach at Georgia Tech after a seven-year stint in the same position at Rutgers. While serving as associate head coach with the Scarlet Knights, Hobbs helped the program to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Championship in 2021 and 2022, marking the first time Rutgers had appeared in the NCAA Tournament in consecutive years since 1976. In addition, Hobbs helped RU snap a 30-year absence from the NCAA Championship when the Scarlet Knights claimed a berth in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, their first since 1991.

"We're super excited to have Karl Hobbs joining our staff as an assistant coach," Joyce III said. "He brings a wealth of experience, because he's not only been through it as an assistant coach at various stops throughout his career but also during his tenure at George Washington as a head coach. He's going to make a great addition to our staff because he knows how to make an impact on the lives of young men, and that's what this position and this sport is about. He doesn't take that lightly, and that's in sync with what we want to accomplish at Duquesne." 

No stranger to the Atlantic 10, Hobbs spent 10 years as head coach at George Washington from 2001 to 2011. He guided the Colonials to a pair of A-10 regular-season championships (2005, 2007) in the midst of four consecutive postseason appearances from 2004 to 2007. GW appeared in the 2003 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) before earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship for three consecutive seasons from 2005 to 2007. Overall during his tenure in Foggy Bottom, Hobbs amassed an overall record of 166-129 (.563).

At George Washington during the 2005-06 season, Hobbs guided the Colonials to an overall record of 27-3 (.900), including a perfect 16-0 mark in the Atlantic 10. GW peaked as high as No. 6 in the Associated Press rankings, and Hobbs was named not only the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District 4 Coach of the Year, but he was one of four finalists for Naismith Coach of the Year. Over the course of the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons, George Washington posted a 24-game home winning streak. In the 2006 NCAA Championship, Hobbs guide the Colonials to an 88-85 overtime victory over UNC Wilmington in Greensboro, N.C., in the first round.

During his tenure at George Washington, five of his assistant coaches went on to become a head coach, including Steve Pikiell, who served as an assistant coach with the Colonials from 2001 to 2005. Pikiell has been the head coach at Rutgers since 2016, with Hobbs serving as associate head coach for the program the first seven years.

Prior to joining Pikiell's staff at Rutgers, Hobbs spent four years as an assistant coach at Connecticut from 2012-16. Responsible for the development of perimeter players and recruiting with the Huskies, his tenure included UConn's run to the 2014 national championship as the Huskies knocked off Kentucky, 60-54, in the title game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

"The spirit that Karl has and still has for our sport is impressive, and I'm excited to have him help us continue to raise our standard and level of play at Duquesne," Joyce III said. "He'll help increase our efficiency on the defensive side of the ball. It's a big hire for us. Karl joining our staff is going to provide a lot of impact throughout our program."

Hobbs was a four-year starter at UConn from 1980-84 at point guard for head coach Dom Perno during his playing career and as a senior earned 1984 All-Big East distinction. In each of his four years with the program, Hobbs led the Huskies in assists. He currently ranks sixth all-time in program history for career assists with 534. Hobbs never missed a game over the course of his four years at Connecticut, starting 104 of his 113 games played. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Family Studies while an undergraduate student-athlete.

Beginning his coaching career as an assistant at Boston University from 1988 to 1993, Hobbs also spent time at his alma mater from 1993 to 2000 as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator before taking over as head coach at George Washington. During his career he has coached 14 players that have moved on to the play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), including 10-time All-Star Ray Allen. Hobbs has also tutored, among others, Richard Hamilton, Caron Butler, Emeka Okafor and Pops Mensah-Bonsu.

Led by Joyce III, in his second season as head coach of the Dukes in 2025-26, Duquesne posted an overall record of 18-15 (.545), including a 9-9 (.500) mark in the Atlantic 10. The Dukes advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2026 Atlantic 10 Championship in logging their third winning season in the last four years. 

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