BC to Hire Cornell Coach Steve Donahue

By KC Downey in College, Featured, Top Story ⋅ April 6, 2010 at 3:56pm ⋅ Post a comment

After cutting ties longtime coach Al Skinner, Boston College appears ready to move in a different direction, snagging upstart coach Steve Donahue from Cornell. They could have gone with former assistant coaches Ed Cooley or Bill Coen, but it appears the school wanted to get away from Al Skinner altogether and start fresh.

Donahue recently rejected an offer from Hofstra for $750,000 per year over five years, so BC is likely to pay a little more for his services, something in the $900,000 per year range for up to seven years.

The 47-year-old Donahue took Cornell from the bottom of the Ivy League to a perennial winner, bringing his school all the way to the Sweet 16 this season before bowing out to No. 1 seed Kentucky.

BC had also reportedly talked to Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl, a BC grad, who was reportedly not interested. UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma was rumored to be interested in jumping to BC, but he later denied the rumors, saying he’d only take a job as a coach at Duke or as an NBA assistant.

In the end, the school settled on Donahue, who represents a safe choice as the school shies away from the Skinner era. The school will hold a press conference on Wednesday to make it official.