Add John Chaney and Phog Allen to the list. Already the most victorious coach in NCAA Division III history, Glenn Robinson surpassed the aforementioned basketball legends in career wins in 2008-2009.
The remarkable history that has been Robinson's career in Lancaster has seen milestone after milestone passed. The 38-year veteran is inextricably linked to F&M's basketball history. This year's February 11 victory over Ursinus was not only Robinson's 750th win, but the program's 1,200th. Last season, he became only the second Division III coach to reach 1,000 games coached.
Robinson has brought the Diplomats to the NCAA's Division III dance 20 times, most recently leading his squad to the 2009 Final Four. F&M has advanced to the round of 16 a dozen times and the round of eight in seven postseasons. The 2009 National Semifinals marked the team's fifth appearance in the final weekend on Robinson's watch and the 21st season with 21+victories. His guidance of the young edition of Diplomats landed him D3Hoops.com Coach of the Year honors.
Robinson guided the Diplomats to the Division III Final Four in 1979, 1991, 1996, 2000 and 2009 and was named the Basketball Times Division III "Coach of the Year" in 1991. He has earned conference and NABC "Coach of the Year" honors 12 times, including the 2004 award for guiding the Diplomats to a 26-4 record, the Centennial Conference title and an NCAA Elite Eight berth. D3Hoops.com named him the Coach of the Year following the 2009 season, when he led a young Diplomats team to the NCAA Championship weekend.
A 1967 graduate of West Chester University, Robinson became the all-time wins leader in Division III history by recording his 667th victory on February 14, 2004 with a Mayser Center win over Muhlenberg. He is one of only 18 coaches in NCAA history to amass 750 wins. Robinson is currently seventh amongst all active NCAA coaches in victories, trailing coaches with names like Kryzewski, Olson, Calhoun and Boeheim. Driesell and Sutton are within reach, while Wooden and Tarkanian are in the rear view.
Robinson grew up in Yeadon, Pennsylvania, and played high school basketball at nearby Lansdowne-Aldan High before attending West Chester. At WCU, he was a standout collegiate baseball and basketball player before graduating in 1967 and earning a masters degree a year later. He was inducted into the University's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004.
During his tenure, all but one player to earn a varsity letter in basketball has earned a degree, a statistic which few, if any, other college in the nation can boast.
"I think that the thing that impresses me most when I look at F&M is the kind of program that Glenn Robinson has built and maintained," said Hope College coach Glenn Van Wieren prior to facing the Diplomats in the 1996 Final Four. "He's truly one of college basketball's best coaches at any level."
He joined the F&M basketball coaching staff as an assistant coach in 1968 under Hall of Fame coach and athletic trainer Chuck Taylor. In the fall of 1971, he took over the Diplomats' varsity program when Taylor resigned to focus on his athletic training responsibilities.
But Robinson's road to NCAA history did not look realistic in the beginning.
Following a year which saw F&M finish 4-16, its seventh consecutive losing season, Robinson took over and led the 1971-72 Diplomats to a 7-14 improvement with wins over Western Maryland, Eastern, Penn State-Harrisburg, Haverford, Juniata, Messiah and a season concluding 68-51 victory over Drexel University. In 1973, the Diplomats improved to 11-13, the eighth straight losing season in program history as the Diplomats last finished .500 or better in 1962-63 when the squad notched a 10-9 record.
Finally, in 1974, Robinson and the Diplomats broke through for a 13-11 mark, the team's best record since a 13-6 performance in 1959.
In 1976, Robinson reset the school win record with a 17-8 record. However, the record did not stand for long as he broke it again in 1977 with 22, 1979 with 27, 1991 with 28 and 1996 with 29 victories.
Part of his success has been the personnel with which he has had to work as Will Lasky (1991 honorable mention, 1992 first team), Donnie Marsh (1977 & 1979 second team), Jeremiah Henry (1996 first team), Dave Jannetta (1994 honorable mention, 1995 third team), Brad Markey (1989 second team), Dennis Westley (1981 second team), Terry Scott (1988 third team), Phil Hoeker (1989 honorable mention), Chris Finch (1991 & 1992 honorable mention), Charlie Detz (1994 & 1995 honorable mention), Mike Mehaffey (1996 honorable mention), Alex Kraft (2000 first team, 2001 honorable mention), Steve Juskin (2004 honorable mention) and Duran Searles (2004 honorable mention) all earned All-America honors under Robinson.
"If you look at F&M over the years, you'll see that there's
rarely a player with an average of more than 17 points per game,"
noted Henry. "The best way to play basketball is for all five
people on the floor to function completely as a unit. We really
stress teamwork and the ability to play together and that comes
through Coach Robinson's system."
Murphy brings 10 years of collegiate experience to the Mayser Center, including five years as the head coach at Morrisville State and several years as a Division I assistant. At Morrisville, Murphy guided the program through its transition from the junior college ranks into NCAA Division III. His 2005-2006 Mustangs posted a school record mark of 26-5.
Prior to his stint in Morrisville, Murphy coached at Loyola College (Md.), serving as a full-time assistant for two seasons. At Loyola, he was responsible for team travel, film exchange, video editing, academic retention, scouting, recruiting, camps and a multitude of administrative tasks.
Murphy spent the 2001-02 season as an intern at West Virginia University (WVU) under legendary head coach Gale Catlett. At WVU, Murphy’s duties included organizing camps, practices, game day operations and a number of administrative tasks.
Prior to WVU, Murphy spent the 2000-01 season at Bethany College (W. Va.) as an assistant coach. Murphy helped coach the Bison to the President Athletic Conference (PAC) title, their first winning season, and their first postseason appearance since 1982. Murphy got his coaching start as an assistant at Pomona-Pitzer in Southern California after graduating from Hamilton College. The Sagecocks reached the second round of the NCAA tournament that season for the first time in school history and Murphy’s junior varsity team went unblemished.
The Clinton, N.Y. native played basketball at Hamilton College from 1995-99. His team advanced to the NCAA tournament each season he was on the roster and reached the Sweet Sixteen in his final two campaigns. His father, Tom Murphy, currently the associate head coach at Northeastern University, was the head coach at Hamilton at that time. He won 602 games in his 34 yards in Clinton. During the summer, Murphy and his father, along with Girogi Chavleishvili , were co-directors of the first basketball camp in the Republic of Georgia.
Murphy’s brother, Michael, currently serves as an assistant coach at Columbia University. N.Y. He is also the founder of the organization “Kids in the Game” which reaches out to the youth of New York City in several ways.
Murphy graduated in May 1999 from Hamilton College with a
Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and a minor in art history.
In April 2002 he earned a masters degree in physical
education-athletic coaching from WVU.
A standout at Eastern University, McMonagle had served the Eagles’ staff since 2006 in several capacities both on and off of the court. In two of his three years coaching at Eastern, the men’s basketball program set school records for wins in a season, including a season high 17 wins in 2008-2009.
McMonagle is an experienced recruiter with a solid background in fundraising and alumni outreach. His duties included scouting, individual player development, and practice and game preparation as well.
In his four year stint as a player at Eastern, McMonagle served as Eastern’s team captain and was on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in 2005-2006. He earned the team’s Best Defensive Player Award as a sophomore, and was dubbed the team’s Most Improved Player as a freshman. He has been an intricate part of Eastern’s recent success both as a former player and as a coach.
McMonagle received his B.S. in Management from Eastern University in 2006 and is currently pursuing a Masters of Education in Athletic Coaching from Millersville University. McMonagle, originally from Lancaster and a graduate from Lancaster Catholic High School, returns to his hometown from Conshohocken, PA where he has spent the last 7 years.
