City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Coming out of Roman Catholic in 2005, Bobby Jordan walked on at Drexel for the opportunity to study sport management and learn from Bruiser Flint about what it was like to be a basketball coach.

But after spending the last four years as an assistant coach under Flint, following two as an administrative assistant and four as a player, Jordan found himself looking for work along with the rest of the staff after the Drexel administration made a coaching change in March. And while coaching had always been the dream, it was a different Drexel connection that helped the 30-year-old Jordan take the next step.

On Tuesday, he officially accepted a position as the Athletic Director at Girard College, where he’s hoping to help lead an athletics resurgence at a five-day boarding school that’s been educating underprivileged youth for nearly 200 years. Drexel alum Henry Fairfax -- previously the Haverford School’s admissions director/head coach and now Vice President of Enrollment Management and Institutional Advancement at Girard -- made the connection.

“Henry approached me about the opportunity that they were going to have and had me come over to the school and had me really look at everything and walk around campus,” Jordan said. “I saw so much potential in the school and I applied for the job and it was a very competitive process [...] it’s something that has been around in my life, being around sports, and I think at a school like this with all the resources and the vision that they have going forward, it has the opportunity to become very special in Philadelphia."

Jordan and Fairfax have gotten to know each other quite well over the last decade, starting with when Jordan was just beginning his undergraduate career in 2005. When Fairfax took over the Haverford School program in 2011 and Jordan became a full-time assistant at Drexel a year later, it was only natural that their relationship would grow.

It didn’t hurt that the Fords had several Dragon targets during those years, bringing Jordan to Haverford School’s gym dozens of times of that span.

“Bru was really big on creating a family atmosphere in our program, guys would always come back to practices,” Jordan said. “(Then) with me being on the road recruiting when (Fairfax) was coaching at Haverford, I would be at their games, at their practices, so we developed a relationship while I was a player and then right into coaching as well.”

Girard College, which is located at 21st and Girard in North Philadelphia, was founded in 1833 by noted banker Stephen Girard, who moved to Philadelphia from France in 1776 and spent the last 55 years of his life in the City of Brotherly Love. Though Girard died in 1831, the wealthy businessman stipulated in his will that the majority of his estate would go towards the formation of a school for orphan boys.

The school became racially integrated in 1968 and became co-ed in 1984, and students who are accepted automatically received a full scholarship to attend the school, which includes housing, food and education. Last year, around 270 students attended the school from grades 1-12.

Many Girard graduates have gone on to become successful in numerous fields, including several professional athletes as well as artists, musicians, scientists and more. From Jordan’s experience, interacting with those who have come through the school is right up there with those who are currently under his watch.

Those two groups form the basis of his immediate plan upon starting the newest chapter of his career.

“The steps that I’d like to take are, being in college, reaching out to alumni, alumni are very important, they’re the lifeblood of your program, whether you’re in high school or college,” Jordan said. “(And) reaching out to your current students, your current coaches, having a vision with them to make sure your teams are competing at a high level.”

With two former Division I basketball players both heavily involved, this signifies a shift in focus back towards athletics for the institution, which pre-dates the oldest public school in the city (Central) by three years.

Girard College does have a history of success on the basketball court, though it’s been a few years since the Cavaliers were relevant on the state level. In 2009, eventual Pitt/Penn State guard John Johnson led Girard to the PIAA Class A state championship when Girard was still a member of the Bicentennial Athletic League; the school now participates in the Penn-Jersey League, a mix-and-match of schools from both sides of the Delaware River.

“They have a rich tradition, and they’re trying to get back to that,” Jordan said. “So I’m looking at it as a place where hopefully I can create a dynamic sports program that is starting to get built back up and get to the tradition that they once had here.”