Ed Leyden will enter his 28th season as head coach of the Suffolk University women’s basketball team for the 2021-22 season.

Leyden has built the program into one of the most consistent and recognized programs in the New England region. He has been honored by the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) on five occasions with the league’s Coach of the Year honor, most recently in 2012-13. During that season, Leyden’s team set the Suffolk University mark for most wins by a basketball team with 21. In 28 total seasons as a collegiate head coach Leyden has amassed 430 career victories including a 428-274 (.610) overall record in 27 years at Suffolk.

During his tenure, Leyden has coached 12 of the 16 members of Suffolk’s 1,000-point scorers, including Katie Norton ’00 the all-time leader with 1,516 points. 

Another noteworthy performer under Leyden’s leadership is Jacqueline Vienneau, the first player in school history and fourth in the GNAC to record career milestones with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists.

Overall Leyden’s players have combined for 35 all-conference honors by the GNAC highlighted by back-to-back GNAC Rookies of the Year: Alexis Hackett (2015-16) and Jenni-Rose DiCecco (2016-17). Two players have been acknowledged for their efforts at the regional level, while his teams have made eight appearances in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Championship Tournament.

Leyden has taken Suffolk on several midseason trips, and took the team on its second international trip in 2014-15 to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Leyden's Rams were the first team to compete internationally during the 2002-03 season when they went to the Bahamas to play in the Sunshine Tournament. The women's basketball team has also traveled to the Sunshine State twice, with flights to Key Largo and Naples, as well as San Diego, California, to compete. 

In addition to the lengthy athletic resume, Leyden’s squads have excelled in the classroom. The Rams have been in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)  Top 25 Honor Roll three times. 

Community service wise, the blue-and-gold has hosted WBCA’s Pink Zone Initiatives with other GNAC member schools to raise awareness for breast cancer.

In 2015, Leyden was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame for his prominent career as Suffolk's head coach. 

Leyden resides in North Reading with his wife Norma and their three children, Michael, Michelle and Daniel, a 2009 graduate from Suffolk University.

Leyden is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts. He received a Master’s Degree and Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies at Boston State College. He is a former Mathematics teacher at Revere High School.