By SPENCER BATES
PITTSBURGH, PA — The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team entered the Atlantic 10 Championship knowing that the final days of head coach Mark Schmidt’s tenure were ahead of them.
Over the last 19 years, Schmidt’s steady hand guided the program out from the shadows of scandal and struggle and onto the national stage. He became the winningest coach in program history, was named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year in 2016 and 2021 and led the team to three NCAA tournaments among a plethora of other accolades.
The knowledge that the next time they lost would ultimately be the end of the road for Schmidt had a noticeable effect on the team. From the moment the No. 13 seed Bonnies tipped off against No. 12 seed La Salle in their first round game, they left everything on the floor, with sights set on sending Schmidt off with one final memorable run.
Bona put up a season-high 99 points against the Explorers in a dominant win. It then made history as the first No. 13 seed to ever reach the quarterfinals of the A10 conference tournament after a compelling 11-point comeback win over No. 5 seed George Mason in the second round.
Heading into its quarterfinal affair against No. 4 seed Dayton, there was hope that the dream would never end.
Schmidt’s team, which had taken its fair share or heavy blows through its first two games of the tournament, once again put the pedal to the floor, chasing the Flyers all over the court and taking every bump and bruise in stride as another upset became a very possible reality.
Bona had Dayton within two points with under a minute to go, but mirroring the struggles that plagued the team all throughout the regular season, it was unable to close the gap, falling 68-63.
The Bonnies and Flyers were never separated by more than two possessions. The former’s largest lead of the game was three points, the latter’s, six. But it was well and truly a cat-and-mouse affair as Dayton led for 33.5 minutes compared to Bona’s 2.5 minutes.
Darryl ‘Buddy’ Simmons II, who went into halftime scoreless, finished with a team high 20 points for the Bonnies. The ever-consistent Frank Mitchell, was the only other member of the team to have finished with double figures, tallying 16 points along with six rebounds.
Mitchell was the first official commitment the program received this past offseason. Transferring from Big 10 side Minnesota, he was poised to be one of the most dominant forces in the conference. He ended up being one of the most dominant forces in all of Div. I basketball.
Reflecting on his time with the program, and specifically his head coach, he noted that he wouldn’t have wanted to wind up anywhere else.
“It’s been a blessing of a season,” Mitchell said. “I experienced Bonaventure from the other side as I went to Canisius, and now I got to be on this side. I love Schmidt to death. Out of all of my coaches, he’s probably the closest I’ve been with anyone. He’s a father figure to me. I’m happy I laid it all on the ground, and I hope he’s proud of me. I’m definitely going to call him every day and annoy him the same way. But yeah, I love him to death, and I wouldn’t choose no other coach but Schmidt.”
St. Bonaventure’s Frank Mitchell (00) puts up a floater against Dayton. Mitchell recorded 16 points and six rebounds for the Bonnies in their 68-63 Atlantic 10 Championship Quarterfinal loss to the Flyers on March 13. (Hunter O. Lyle)
There was a somber air about the team’s postgame press conference.
The Bona train rolling into the semifinals was a real possibility. But despite the loss and possible disappointment his players felt, Schmidt let it be known that for their effort alone, he was proud.
“They played hard, they stuck together, and we had a lot of close games,” Schmidt said. “It was a fun group. We’re disappointed in some of those losses, but I think it showed the character of our guys, the competitiveness, that they didn’t lay down. We played well. We played well throughout the year, just not consistently well. … But them coming here and playing well against La Salle and pulling that win out against George Mason and showing some great game today, I’m proud. Those guys are disappointed, but you’ll look back and you’ll think about the good times. Ten years from now, 20 years from now, no one will remember who won the game, Dayton or St. Bonaventure. It’s about the relationships, and that’s what’s most important.”
But any disappointment, Schmidt believes, will be short-lived. Players move on rather quickly in this era.
As for himself, Schmidt has no regrets.
“Yeah, you’re disappointed. I wish we could go on and win the national championship, but only one team is going to do that,” Schmidt said. “Everybody is going to end this season with a loss … so you’re disappointed in that. You’re disappointed in having your players lose and seeing their faces in the locker room. But the great thing about being young is that 15 minutes after the game, they’re thinking about what they’re going to eat. I think with coaches, it hurts more. Players are just very resilient and bounce back. But yeah, I’m content, and I can’t wait to get the hell out of here, stop talking to you guys and go drink some beer.”
The Bona faithful showed out in droves to support their team during this magical postseason run. Schmidt acknowledged them after each of his team’s games with an emphatic fist pump of gratitude. And as a parting gift, he offered some words of advice for whomever will take his place at the head of the Bona bench next season.
“That community, in Olean and Allegany, it’s prideful,” Schmidt said. “Those people think that Olean is the best place in the world. You can’t talk negative about it. You gotta be one of them. And one of them is good. I take pride in telling people that I’m an Olean guy, that I’m a Bartlett guy. … The next guy that comes in, he has to embrace that and understand that basketball is everything to that community.”
It is rare to see a coach in this day and age stay in a job for as long as Schmidt did. And while the entire landscape of college basketball changed around him, he remained faithful to the Brown and White.
That being said, Schmidt admitted that he is glad to be departing the industry — which has changed from one of making connections to one of quick transactions.
However, he didn’t completely rule out a return to coaching, granted he doesn’t know if he’ll be needed at TD Garden any time soon.
“I guess if the Boston Celtics called, but Joe (Mazzulla) is not in trouble,” Schmidt said. “It’s funny, talking to my son, Nick, and my youngest son, Mike, who’s an assistant at Putnam Science, and he wants to get into college coaching as well, we, as the older generation, didn’t get into coaching to make money, to get rich. … We were in it to have relationships and to have an effect on people’s lives, young men’s lives. Now it’s different. It’s more of a business, paying players and so forth. … I’m not sure where this business is going, but I’m glad I’m not going to be a part of it.”
St. Bonaventure’s Darryl ‘Buddy’ Simmons II (8) goes up for a layup against Dayton. Simmons scored a team-high 20 points for the Bonnies in their loss to the Flyers. (Hunter O. Lyle)
Before spending nearly two decades with the Bonnies, Schmidt got his start as a head coach at Robert Morris — a campus located less than 20 miles from where he coached the last game of his career. A true full-circle moment that he took the time to reflect upon.
“It’s funny how life works,” Schmidt said. “I took my first job at Robert Morris and was there for six years. I still have friends (there that) came to the game tonight. If I didn’t have Robert Morris, I would have failed at Bonaventure. It made me a better coach. And just coming back here, … it’s funny how things work out. You look at it and it’s kind of eerie that you begin and you end in the same place.”
When all is said and done, Schmidt will be remembered as the one who completely changed the trajectory of the program.
But the time for reflection can wait.
As he said in his official retirement announcement back on March 7, he wants to ‘drink beer without consequence.’ And he knows exactly what beer that is going to be.
“A Sam Adams, because I’m a Boston guy, Cold Snap.”
The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team finished the 2025-26 season with a 17-17 record.
