Cornell University Athletics

E-mail Coach Donahue (scd25@cornell.edu)

The Robert E. Gallagher '44 Head Coach of Men's Basketball

Steve Donahue completed his eighth season as head basketball coach at Cornell and his energetic leadership has helped the Big Red basketball program gain a new level of national respect as a perennial challenger for the Ivy League title, culminating in leading the 2007-08 team to its first Ancient Eight title and NCAA tournament bid in 20 years.

A tremendous motivator, Donahue has set lofty goals for his program. While continuing its move up the Ivy League standings is the immediate challenge, building a program that can compete for Ivy League titles and NCAA berths is the main focus. His team has the second-best Ivy record over the last four years (39-17).

 In each successive season, the quality of play by the Big Red has steadily improved. Donahue has coached and/or recruited six of the school’s top 20 all-time leading scorers, an Ivy League Player of the Year, three Ivy League Rookie of the Year players, two NABC all-district selections, four Academic All-District picks and two Academic All-Americans.

The 2007-08 district Coach of the Year according to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), the United States Basketball Writers’ Association (USBWA) and collegeinsider.com (Hugh Durham National Mid-Major Coach of the Year finalist), Donahue directed the 2007-08 Big Red to a 22-6 record and the program’s first Ivy title in 20 years. Cornell became the 13th team in league history to go unbeaten (14-0) and set school records for wins (22), Ivy wins (14), consecutive wins (16), points (2,136) and 3-point field goals made (228) in a season, as well as highest free-throw percentage (.761). Four players were named to the All-Ivy team, including Ivy League Player of the Year Louis Dale. Dale became the second Big Red player to earn the honor, and the second sophomore to capture the award. He was joined as a unanimous first-team selection by classmate Ryan Wittman. Juniors Jeff Foote and Adam Gore were also second-team picks.

Coming off a 16-12 season in 2006-07, the first winning campaign for the Big Red since 1996-97, Cornell had high expectations with the return of eight of the squad’s top 10 scorers and three All-Ivy players (Louis Dale, Adam Gore, Ryan Wittman). Last year’s squad posted a 9-5 Ancient Eight record, the most conference wins since 1992-93, while the team finished in the top three in the league standings for the third straight season. Despite losing the team’s leading scorer and reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year, Adam Gore, in the season opener, Cornell posted a victory at Northwestern (Big Ten) and closed the season 12-5 after the calendar turned to 2007.

 Donahue’s 2005-06 team matched the previous season’s win total both overall (13) and in Ivy play (8) while recording back-to-back winning Ancient Eight seasons for the first time since the 1986-87 and 1987-88 teams under Mike Dement. Cornell finished in third place in the final league standings as both Lenny Collins and Adam Gore earned second-team All-Ivy honors, while Gore was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year. The team also won a school record five Ivy League road games.

 The 2004-05 Ivy League Coach of the Year according to CollegeInsider.com, Donahue’s Big Red squad earned its highest Ivy finish in 17 years with its second-place effort and claimed its first winning Ancient Eight campaign (8-6) since the 1992-93 season. It was only the seventh time in school history that Cornell finished second in Ivy play. Among the many highlights of the season was a sweep of Princeton for the first time in 20 years and the first win at Jadwin Gymnasium in 19 years. The Big Red swept a Yale-Brown weekend for the first time since 1999-2000, hit a school and Carrier Dome record 15 3-pointers against No. 7 Syracuse and defeated St. Bonaventure of the Atlantic 10 on the road in what Jay Bilas of ESPN had called one of the five toughest places to play in the country. The Big Red had two players named All-Ivy (Lenny Collins - first team, Eric Taylor - honorable mention) for the first time since 1997. The team’s 13 wins overall were the most since that same 1996-97 campaign.

 In 2003-04, Donahue led a team with just one senior to its third straight season of improvement. The 11 wins overall were the most by a Big Red team in five years, as were the club’s six Ivy wins. Cornell improved its scoring average nearly 10 points per game, went from a -3.0 to a +2.3 rebound margin and lowered its opponent field goal percentage (ranking second in Ivy League play at .426). Cornell’s pressure defense generated 236 steals, good for second in the Ivy League and a school record. The young Big Red squad was in a majority of games, dropping seven contests, including four in Ivy play, by five points or less or in overtime.

 Donahue developed Ka’Ron Barnes into a first-team All-Ivy selection in 2004, the Big Red’s first player to be honored as one of the league’s top five players in seven seasons.

 During the off-season, Donahue and the Big Red made its first foreign trip, spending 10 days in Australia. While there, Cornell competed against semi-pro clubs, going 3-1 leading into the 2003-04 campaign.

 Donahue’s 2002-03 squad nearly doubled its previous season’s win total with its 9-18 finish, while its fifth-place ranking in the Ivy League was its highest since 1999. Barnes was named second-team All-Ivy League, while Lenny Collins earned the Ancient Eight’s Rookie of the Year Award.

 As part of his philosophy, Donahue has accepted the gauntlet thrown down by the top programs in the Ivy League and upgraded the non-conference schedule. Cornell has played an NCAA finalist twice in the last five years, including eventual national champion Syracuse in 2002-03. In 2003-04, the Big Red hosted eventual national runner-up Georgia Tech. Donahue’s Big Red has regularly played teams from power conferences such as the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Atlantic 10, Big Ten, Big East and Mountain West Conferences. This year’s schedule includes a trip to perennial top 25 powers Duke (ACC) and Syracuse (Big East), as well as games against preseason or defending league champions Ohio University (Mid-American Conference), Siena (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) and Bucknell (Patriot League).

 Off the court, Cornell players are expected to succeed in the classroom and contribute in their community. Big Red players make appearances in local schools, speaking to students of the importance of a good education.

Donahue became the fourth Robert E. Gallagher ‘44 Coach of Men’s Basketball at Cornell on Sept. 6, 2000. He wasted little time making an impact on and off the court.

Despite joining the program a little more than two months before the team’s first contest in 2000, Donahue began molding his team. By the end of the season his emphasis on hard work and dedication to the program paid off in a win over Ivy League champ and NCAA participant Princeton and a two-point loss to league runner-up Penn.

Despite a rash of injuries that cost the Big Red 54 missed games among its top eight players during the 2001-02 season, Donahue led a team that relied on eight freshmen, the most of any Division I school in the country, to a nearly identical record as in his first season. The team’s biggest improvement could be seen in its defensive play, as the squad lowered its field goal percentage defense from .463 in Donahue’s first season to .428 in his second year. The squad also broke school records for 3-pointers made in a game (14) and a season (200) as Donahue’s full-court offensive philosophy began to take shape.

Renowned as a top recruiter and for his offensive mind while an assistant at the University of Pennsylvania, Donahue learned the trade from some of the nation’s top coaches.

Donahue served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator under Fran Dunphy at Penn for 10 years. During his tenure as a Quaker assistant, he was heavily involved in the recruitment of five of Penn’s top 20 all-time scorers. He was also instrumental in the Quakers winning six Ivy League titles in his last eight years there, advancing to the NCAA tournament five times and earning national recognition with a top 25 ranking. His duties included practice preparation, game coaching, scouting and academic monitoring of players.

Prior to joining Dunphy’s staff at Penn, Donahue coached for two seasons at Philadelphia University. During his two seasons there, the Rams won 20 games each season and also competed in the 1989 NCAA Division II tournament. Thus, since 1989, Donahue has been an integral part of programs that have gone to six postseason tournaments. Plus, he has the unique experience of qualifying for the NCAA tournament in all three divisions (including the Division III tourney as a player with Ursinus).

Donahue served as an assistant for current Lafayette head coach Fran O’Hanlon at Monsignor Bonner High School, helping to guide Bonner to the 1987-88 Philadelphia Catholic League Championship.

Donahue began his coaching career at Springfield High School under Skip Werley, his former college coach. He served as head coach of the junior varsity and assistant coach for the varsity team for three seasons.

It was during his playing days at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pa., that Donahue developed his leadership skills. He captained both the baseball and basketball teams as a senior, earning four letters in both sports. As a freshman, Donahue helped the basketball squad finish 23-8 and advance to the NCAA Division III tournament.

Donahue is a 1984 graduate of Ursinus with a bachelor of arts degree in economics and business administration.

Donahue and his wife, Pamela, reside in Ithaca with their four children, Taylor, Matthew, Katie and Jack.

CORNELL
Obviously with the diversity of the seven schoools and over 4,000 courses, Cornell would attract any student who is serious about academics. We also play in a great league in a great part of the country. Cornell is situated in a perfect spot to have students come and be successful academically and athletically.

HIS COACHING PHILOSOPHY
I'm looking for players who are passionate for the game of basketball. Players who want to win. I think we need to find guys who are not selfish, who think of their team first and themselves second. That will hold over on defense and offense. We'll be looking for people who are dedicated to all aspects of the university ... academics, the city and the university. Players who are dedicated to become as good as they can be on the court. They will work hard to help us reach the highest level we possibly can.

THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
I've been fortunate enough to participate in five of those special days ... the greatest day in a basketball player's life ... Selection Sunday. There is nothing like that feeling of knowing what you have accomplished, winning your league. Then, everyone in the country gets to know who won the Ivy League and where we are going. It is just a tremendous feeling of accomplishment and I hope these guys will know what it means so they can strive hard to reach that goal. I'll do everything I possibly can to allow Cornell basketball players to achieve that, to know what that experience is exactly like, the `Big Dance.'

EXPECTATIONS OF A CORNELL ATHLETE
I simply expect our players to give 100 percent on and off the court. Off the court, they are going to take care of their academics, and on the court they will take care of each other. Our players will come to practice thinking that we are going to get something done today and get better at each and every practice. I expect our players to be committed to the Big Red basketball program in every aspect, on and off the court.