Before joining ESPN, Richard Digger Phelps was one of America's most visible college basketball coaches.
The nickname "Digger" derives from his birthplace of Beacon, New York, where his father owned a funeral service.
He began his coaching career in 1963 as a graduate assistant at Rider College, where he had played basketball. After a move to the high school ranks, he got his first full assistant job in 1966 at the University of Pennsylvania. His first head coaching job came in 1970 at Fordham University; after leading the Rams to a 26-3 record in the 1970-71 season, he was named head coach at the University of Notre Dame.
During his 20 seasons at Notre Dame (1971-1991), his teams went 393-197, with 14 seasons of 20 wins or more. In 1978, Notre Dame made its only (men's) Final Four to date. However, his most-remembered game was on January 19, 1974, when the Fighting Irish scored the last 12 points of the game to defeat top-ranked UCLA 71-70, ending the Bruins' record 88-game winning streak.
After retiring from coaching, he briefly worked for the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and also served as an observer in the 1993 elections in Cambodia. His broadcasting career began in 1993, when he did color commentary for that year's NCAA tournament for CBS. He joined ESPN the next season.
In 2004, Phelps started color-coordinating his neckties with his highliters for ESPN broadcasts. This color-coodination became known as "Tie-liter."
He is also a fan of Opera and is making his first cameo appearance in the Notre Dame student opera performance of Offenbach's "Orpheus and the Underworld" playing the part of Baccus, the god of wine, on April 7th and 8th, 2006.
Many believe his college basketball analysis is tinged with an "East Coast" bias.
His daughter Karen is currently married to baseball pitcher Jamie Moyer.
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