Brendan Cunningham is the head coach of Temple University men's rowing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and began his third season leading his alma mater in 2025-26. A four-year member of Temple's men's crew team and a USRowing Level III Certified Coach, Cunningham returned to the Owls after coaching stops at Drexel, Penn, Yale, Washington College, and Lower Merion High School.
Temple broke through in 2024-25 under Cunningham, earning IRA Comeback Team of the Year recognition as the program's top three varsity eight boats spent the season ranked among the top 20 in the IRCA/IRA Top 25 polls. At the Dad Vail Regatta, Temple's first varsity eight won the Richard O'Brien-James Hanna Trophy for the first time since 2021, while the second varsity eight and novice eight also captured gold medals. The top two varsity boats and the third varsity eight later posted top-20 finishes at the IRA National Championships, including a 16th-place result for the second varsity eight. Two Temple boats, an eight and a four, were also selected to compete at the Henley Royal Regatta in England.
