Cornell University Athletics

Schafer ranked second all-time among all Cornell head coaches in wins (561-300-117) during a storied 30-year career at his alma mater, directing the Big Red to seven Whitelaw Cups (ECAC Hockey tournament titles), six Cleary Cups (ECAC's regular-season championships) and 13 Ivy League titles during his time on the bench. Schafer guided Cornell to 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, which included a trip to Buffalo, N.Y., for the 2003 Frozen Four — the program's first national semifinal since the 1979-80 campaign. Along with its Frozen Four appearance, the Big Red established the school record for wins (30), claiming one more victory than Cornell's 1969-70 national championship squad. With Schafer serving as Cornell's bench boss, the Big Red registered 14 20-win seasons and 18 campaigns with at least a .600 win percentage, including his final eight seasons. In 2020, Schafer was named co-winner of the Spencer Penrose Award, given to the nation's top head coach, sharing the honor with North Dakota's Brad Berry. It was the first time Schafer won the award after being named ECAC Hockey's Coach of the Year five times (2002, 2003, 2005, 2018, 2020) and Ivy League Coach of the Year four times (2018, 2019, 2020, 2024). During his career for Cornell, Schafer coached 10 players to first team All-America status (11 instances), eight Ivy League Players of the Year, six ECAC Hockey Ken Dryden Award winners (league's best goaltender), five Rookies of the Year in both ECAC Hockey and the Ivy League, and three ECAC Hockey Players of the Year. His Cornell teams were ranked in the top 20 of the USCHO.com poll 444 times since its inception in 1997-98. As a student-athlete, Schafer was a four-year letterman for the Big Red and was a two-year captain. He capped his collegiate career by leading the team to an ECAC Hockey championship and No. 5 national ranking as a senior. During his playing career, the Big Red won at least a share of the Ivy League crown three consecutive seasons. Schafer was a two-time second-team All-Ivy selection and once was honorable mention All-ECAC Hockey.