Penn fires longtime head men’s basketball coach Steve Donahue
The Quakers finished this season 8-19, with a 4-10 record in the Ivy League. Overall, Donahue compiled a 131-130 record in nine seasons. He was 63-63 in Ivy League play.
Penn fired men’s basketball coach Steve Donahue on Monday after nine seasons leading the Quakers.
Donahue led Penn to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2018, his third season as coach. The Quakers had a winning record in the Ivy League in four of five seasons starting with that appearance, but they won only seven games in league play over the last two seasons.
Penn finished this season with an 8-19 record, 4-10 in the Ivy. Overall, Donahue compiled a 131-130 record in nine seasons. He was 63-63 in Ivy League play, including a season-ending 95-71 loss at Princeton on Saturday.
A source with knowledge of the matter also told The Inquirer that all three of Donahue’s assistants — Nat Graham, Joe Mihalich Jr., and Kris Saulny — have been dismissed.
“I’m going to miss Coach Donahue and the staff,” sophomore guard Sam Brown said. “They’ve been great to me.”
“I’m appreciative of Steve’s long tenure of leadership and service to Penn basketball and our student-athletes, both as an assistant and head coach,” Penn athletic director Alanna Wren said in a statement.
“Steve has been steadfast in his commitment to the program and the development of our student-athletes. I’ve always had great respect for his commitment to Ivy values, and he has been a firm representative of Penn during his career.
“Unfortunately, the competitive success on the court has not been up to our standards. While difficult, a change in leadership is necessary to provide the championship-caliber experience our student-athletes, alumni, and fans expect. We wish Steve and his family the best moving forward.”
Penn and the Ivy League have been impacted by the changes in college sports, such as name, image, and likeness deals and the NCAA’s transfer portal. Penn lost its top freshman from the 2023-24 season, guard Tyler Perkins, to Villanova in the transfer portal.
In 2023, the Quakers lost Ivy League player of the year Jordan Dingle to St. John’s. Additionally, their top scorer from last season, Clark Slajchert, was forced to transfer because the Ivy League does not allow graduate students to play.
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Donahue got his start coaching at the collegiate level at Penn under Fran Dunphy in the 1990-91 season. He served as an assistant at Penn until 2000 before becoming the head coach at Cornell. He spent 10 seasons with the Big Red, including three NCAA Tournament appearances and a Sweet 16 run in the 2009-10 season.
After that success, Donahue became the coach at Boston College. With BC, he found success in his first year before suffering three consecutive losing seasons. He was fired after four years with the program. Before returning to Penn in 2015, Donahue worked as a college basketball analyst for ESPN and Fox.
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“It [stinks] to hear,” senior center Nick Spinoso said in a text message. “I know it is part of the business, but this coaching staff allowed me to play college basketball at a great university so I will be forever grateful for them.”
A “national search” for Donahue’s successor is underway, and Penn has retained Parker Executive Search to assist in the process.
It’s the same firm the school hired to find Wren’s predecessor as athletic director, Grace Calhoun, after Steve Bilsky retired in 2014. Villanova also hired Parker Executive Search when former athletic director Vince Nicastro retired in 2015.
Staff writers Jonathan Tannenwald and Conor Smith contributed to this article.