By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — St. Bonaventure Vice President and Director of Athletics Bob Beretta officially announced that Mike MacDonald will join the men’s basketball program as the 20th head coach in its history.
News first broke of MacDonald’s imminent appointment on March 30 via ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Further background on MacDonald and what he brings to the Bonnies can be found here.
“We are extremely excited to bring Mike back to St. Bonaventure,” Beretta said via a release. “As we set out to identify the next leader of our men’s basketball program, we developed a list of more than 20 characteristics that we would look for in the person who would succeed Mark Schmidt as head coach. Mike checked every box. First and foremost, we searched for an individual who could maintain the championship pedigree of our men’s basketball program and build on the legacy of success authored most recently by Mark, and head coaches such as Eddie Donovan, Larry Weise, Jim Satalin, Jim O’Brien and Jim Baron before him.”
MacDonald joins the Bonnies after having led Div. II Daemen University to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament this past season. His Wildcats amassed a 61-3 record (32-0 in-conference) over the past two seasons.
A big part of what drew the Bona search committee to MacDonald was his ability to retain players and build in the NIL/portal era.
“I have complete confidence that Mike can build upon the foundation that Mark built here,” University President Dr. Jeff Gingerich said via a release. “In this transient era of college athletics, to be able to keep a team together and scale the heights that Daemen did really speaks to his ability to create an environment that players want to be a part of. I don’t care what level you’re coaching at — you’re coaching against peer programs. To achieve what Mike has at Daemen is remarkable.”
A news conference to introduce MacDonald will be held on April 8 in the Reilly Center. The time of the event is TBD.
