University of New England Men's Basketball

14th season as UNE Head Coach (2025-26) [Year-by-Year] 25th season as NCAA head coach; 298-326 after 24 seasons Ed Silva has led the UNE men's basketball program for 13 seasons, including a very abbreviated six-game slate in 2020-21. During his time, the Nor'easters have six of the 11 conference postseason tournament appearances in program history. In back-to-back years (2014-15, 2015-16), the team reached the semifinal round with upsets of top seed and second seed, respectively. The win in 2015-16 secured the first overall winning record (14-13) for UNE in seven seasons. In 2017-18, the Nor'easters finished the league slate with a positive mark (10-8) for the first time in eight seasons and took the fifth seed into the postseason. In 2019-20, the squad had a 13-12 overall ledger. From August 2021 until November 2022, Silva also served the University from the post of Interim Associate Provost for Community, Equity, and Diversity. Check out this June 2020 Spotlight on Silva... He came to UNE from Elms College [NCAA III], after assembling a 206-103 record over 11 seasons at the head of the Blazer bench. Under his direction, Elms won seven consecutive league crowns in the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) from 2005-2011, leading to six NCAA Championship appearances during that time. Inheriting a team that went 2-21 prior to his arrival, Silva had the Blazers in the NCAA Championship four years later. More recently, in 2008-09, he guided Elms to a program-record 26-2 mark and the school's first national ranking. The Blazers peaked at No. 12 in the national poll that season while leading the country in steals per game and scoring margin. The following season Elms captured the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) New England Championship. Silva was also a faculty member on top of his coaching duties at Elms. Prior to his time at Elms, Silva served as an assistant coach at Eastern Connecticut State University [NCAA III] from 1996-2001, helping guide the Warriors to a Little East Conference (LEC) title and NCAA Championship appearance in 2000. He also served as an assistant coach at Hesser College during the 1993-94 season. A graduate of Eastern Connecticut, Silva earned his bachelor's degree in sociology in 1997 and went on to attain a master's degree in social work from the University of Connecticut in 2002. He was an all-conference basketball player while at Eastern Connecticut, and participated in the 1996 New England Senior All-Star Game, as well as being named a Met Life Scholar-Athlete. He and his wife, Cecily, live in Biddeford with their three children -- son, Julius, playing basketball at Southern Maine Community College, and twin daughters, Gabriella and Natalia. Previous Head Coaching: Elms College (2001-2012) / NAC Coach of the Year (2004-05), NECC Coach of the Year (2008-09) Men's Basketball Home (updated July 2025)

6th season (2025-26) Previous Coaching Experience Dadiego was an assistant coach at Lasell University [NCAA III] from 2018-20, and at Mount Ida College [NCAA III] from 2014-17. He was an assistant to current UNE head coach, Ed Silva, back in 2013-14, as well. Competitive Experience / Education Dadiego competed for UNE during his sophomore and senior years, playing in a combined 30 games and starting nine. The latter was under Silva during his first season. Dadiego graduated from UNE in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in sport management. He then earned a master's degree in sport and performance psychology from the University of Western States in 2017. Dadiego is also employed with the University as a Professional Academic Advisor on the Biddeford Campus.