“I would like to thank President (Bill) Destler, Dr. (Jim) Watters, Dr. Cooper, and Mr. Lou Spiotti for their continued support and belief in me to lead this program to a new level,” said McDonald, who will enter his seventh season behind the bench for the RIT women’s squad in 2012-13. “It’s great to see the administration support our program and show our recruits that the coaching staff will be intact for a long time.”
Last season, McDonald led the Tigers to their first NCAA Division III Women’s Ice Hockey Championship Tournament appearance in school history, setting a Division III record with 28 wins. The Tigers finished the season with a 28-1-1 mark, defeating Norwich 4-1 on March 17 to claim their first NCAA Championship. The Tigers opened and ended the year with two 14-game winning streaks and were the No. 1 team in the nation for 18 weeks during the season.
In his six seasons as head coach at RIT, McDonald has compiled an overall record of 135-22-10 and is the Division III all-time leader with a .835 winning percentage. He is RIT’s all-time leader in coaching victories and earned his 100th win at RIT on Jan. 29, 2011 vs. Buffalo State. He became the second fastest coach in Division III history to reach that milestone (128 games).
In 2010, McDonald led the Tigers to its first ECAC West Championship, a trip to the NCAA Division III National Championship game and the program’s first No. 1 ranking. RIT finished 26-2-2 and boasted three All-Americans, including three-time selection Sarah Dagg (St. George, Ontario/Hamilton Hawks), the Laura Hurd National Player of the Year.
RIT has a 54-3-3 record over the last two seasons, and announced its intention to make the leap to Division I on March 20. The Tigers will join College Hockey America for the 2012-13 season and open the season with a pair of home games against perennial power Mercyhurst on Sept. 28-29. This season, RIT is eligible for CHA post-season play, but not NCAA post-season play. In 2014-15, RIT will be eligible for NCAA post-season play.
“We are delighted to have Coach McDonald lead our women’s hockey program into the Division I era,” said Cooper. “His contributions and outstanding recruiting efforts will have continued payoffs at the next level of play. His proven record of success at the Division III level sets the stage for this significant move for our athletic program.”
McDonald, the 2011 ECAC West Coach of the Year has led the Tigers to three NCAA Division III Tournament berths and two consecutive ECAC West Championships. The Tigers have won at least 19 games in each of his six seasons behind the bench and have won at least 20 games four times. He has coached nine different AHCA All-Americans, 36 All-ECAC West selections, and three consecutive Rochester Press Radio Club Paychex Local Female College Athletes of the Year (Katie Stack (Batavia, NY/Rochester Edge), Sarah Dagg (St. George, Ontario/Hamilton Hawks), Kristina Moss (Webster, NY)).
Under McDonald’s tutelage, the Tigers have also excelled in the classroom and have become active members in the community. On Jan. 21-22, 2011, the Tigers broke a Division III regular season attendance record with a capacity crowd, raising $10,219 to help “Black Out Heart Disease.” In 2010 and 2012, both the men’s and women’s teams, along with Zeta Tau Alpha combined to raise over $45,000 for cancer research, as part of the Real Tigers Wear Pink promotion.
“We are very pleased to be able to secure Scott McDonald’s leadership of our NCAA Division I Women’s Ice Hockey program,” said Lou Spiotti, Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. “I could think of no one better to lead this program into this new and exciting era. Much of our success in recent years can be attributed to his efforts. This is an exciting time for all of us.”
A 2000 graduate of Niagara University, McDonald played defense for the Purple Eagles — and then coach and former standout RIT defenseman Blaise MacDonald — from 1996-2000. He was part of the school’s inaugural freshman and first graduating classes as a Division I program. During his senior year, he helped Niagara, in only its fourth season, to an NCAA Tournament at-large bid, beating the University of New Hampshire in the northeast regional. He also helped Niagara to an undefeated season in the College Hockey America conference (15-0-2, 30-8-4 overall), as well as the CHA regular season and tournament championships.
McDonald later served as an assistant at Utica College for one season before moving to RIT to serve as the assistant coach for the RIT men’s hockey program from 2003-06. He put forth an outstanding effort in recruiting talented student-athletes as the men’s squad made the leap to Division I in 2005.
McDonald, a native of Oakville, Ontario, is set to become the only person in NCAA history to play at the Division I and III level, and coach at both divisions on both the men’s and women’s sides. His new contract extension will run through the 2014-15 season.
“Over the last nine years, RIT has given me a great opportunity to coach at every level and I am are excited to see how we stack up against the best teams right away at the Division I level,” said McDonald. “I’d also like to thank our players for all of their hard work. Without that, none of this would be possible”
