Steve Donahue, who led the Cornell men's basketball team to three consecutive Ivy League titles and a trip to the 2010 NCAA Sweet 16, accepted the head coaching position at Boston College, the schools announced in separate press releases on Wednesday.
Donahue's 10 seasons were among the most successful in Big Red history. Taking over a team with just two winning seasons in the 12 years prior to his arrival, he posted a 146-138 record to place third on the school's career wins list. His 78 Ivy League victories rank 10th all-time in conference history and top all Cornell coaches. He is one of only eight coaches to win three Ivy League titles.
The 2007-08 and 2009-10 NABC District Coach of the Year and the 2010 Clair Bee National Coach of the Year, Donahue will move up to the Atlantic Coast Conference to replace Al Skinner at BC. In 13 seasons at the helm, Skinner led the Eagles to a 247-165 record, seven NCAA Tournament berths and one NIT appearance.
Cornell will begin a national search for Donahue's replacement immediately, according to a Cornell Sports Information press release. The new coach will face a major rebuilding process, as the Big Red will graduate nine seniors this May, including four starters.
Harvard Head Coach Tommy Amaker in midst of contract extension negotiation
Another highly regarded men's basketball coach will not be leaving the Ivy League: Tommy Amaker, who led Harvard to a school-record 21 wins this season, is working with the school on a multi-year extension, according to a statement released by Harvard Sports Information.
Amaker led the Crimson to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, its first postseason berth since 1946, and was named a finalist for the Ben Jobe Award, presented annually to the top minority coach in Division I college basketball.
In other Ancient Eight coaching news, Colleen Quinn Fink was named Penn's head field hockey coach, and Cornell's Rob Koll was named InterMat Wrestling's Head Coach of the Year for leading the Big Red to a second-place finish at the 2010 NCAA tournament.
Danis '04 named Brown's lone representative on ECAC All-Decade team
Yann Danis '04 was named the goaltender of the ECAC Hockey men's All-Decade team last month. Danis earned first team All-American honors after a 2003-04 season in which he set ECAC records for single-season save percentage (.948) and career shutouts (13), and tied Kevin McCabe '77 for the most career wins by a Brown goaltender, with 43.
Princeton, Gillette stadium have big events in future
Following Princeton's 9-7 victory over Brown on Saturday at the New England Lacrosse Classic in Gillette Stadium, both the Tigers and the stadium are headed for special events.
No. 4 Princeton will travel to East Rutherford, N.J., on Saturday to play in the Konica Minolta Big City Classic, the first event that will be played in the new Meadowlands Stadium, the future home of the New York Giants and Jets. The Tigers will take on No. 3 Syracuse, after games pitting Delaware against Hofstra and No. 1 Virginia against No. 2 North Carolina.
Gillette will host the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Quarterfinals and the 2012 NCAA Division I, II and III Championships. Harvard will serve as the host school for both events.
