After playing basketball at Rider College, Richard "Digger" Phelps became a graduate assistant at his alma mater. His first assistant coaching position was at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1970, Digger received his first head coaching position at Fordham University. In his first season, Phelps coached his team to a 26-3 record.

This record was enough to catch the attention of Notre Dame. Today, Notre Dame hired Digger Phelps to replace John Dee after seven years of coaching. Dee compiled a 116-80 record while at Notre Dame. Phelps would remain head coach for twenty years with a 393-197 record and seven defeats of top ranked teams.