Former Hamilton College Head Men's Basketball Coach Tom Murphy was selected to be placed on the ballot for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday afternoon, Dec. 19 when the Class of 2026 nominee announcement was made during an NBA Today broadcast on ESPN2.
 
Murphy is in the North America Nominee category. Class of 2026 Enshrinement Weekend is Friday, August 14 and Saturday, August 15. The basketball hall of fame is located in Springfield, Mass.
 
Murphy coached the Continentals from 1970 to 2004 and posted a record of 602-262 during those 34 seasons. His teams won 20 or more games in 15 of those seasons, highlighted by a 26-1 record in 1990-91 when Hamilton was ranked No. 1 in the season's final NCAA Division III poll.
 
The Continentals won 10 Eastern College Athletic Conference Upstate New York Tournament titles and made eight NCAA championship tournament appearances during Murphy's career. He coached 13 all-Americans and was twice named the Division III Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. In 1998, Murphy was inducted into the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame.
 
Most recently, the basketball court inside Hamilton's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House was named Coach Tom Murphy Court during a dedication ceremony on Dec. 9, 2023. Murphy also coached at SUNY Polytechnic Institute for two seasons and was on the coaching staff at Northeastern University from 2006 until 2025 under Head Coach Bill Coen, who played for Murphy at Hamilton.