Moon Township, Pa. - Robert Morris University Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Craig Coleman, M.D., announced today that head men's ice hockey coach Derek Schooley has signed a two-year contract extension. Schooley, the only head coach in Colonial men's ice hockey four-year history, is now signed through May of 2013.
"I would like to thank University president Dr. Greg Dell'Omo, Dr. Coleman and the athletic administration for their support, dedication and commitment toward Robert Morris hockey," Schooley said. "Our program has made great strides the past four years and we look forward in helping Robert Morris build upon the success we've had in the infancy of the program."
Schooley was named the program's first head coach August 22, 2003, with the responsibility of building a program that began play during the 2004-05 season. In 2004-05 the Colonials had a roster that consisted of 20 freshmen, three sophomores and one junior and Schooley led the club to an overall record of 8-21-4. Robert Morris improved to 12-20-3 in 2005-06, advancing to the semifinals of the College Hockey America (CHA) Tournament. Last season the Colonials posted an overall record of 14-19-2, appearing in their first CHA tournament championship game against Alabama-Huntsville.
Under Schooley's guidance, Robert Morris has also knocked off a number of ranked opponents. In January 2007, the Colonials garnered a 4-2 win over No. 2 Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, marking the biggest upset in school history in any sport. So far this season RMU has defeated ranked opponents in Boston University (10/12/07) and Niagara (11/10/07).
"We are very happy to extend Derek's contract and provide even more stability to our men's ice hockey program," Coleman said. "Derek has accomplished a great deal in just over three seasons as our head coach. We are committed to our hockey program competing at the highest level, and Derek has proven that he is the right coach to get us there."
Schooley came to Robert Morris after spending five seasons as an assistant coach at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., from 1998-2003. He was an assistant coach for four seasons with the Falcons before being promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2002-03 campaign. Schooley also coached one season at Cornell (1997-98) and began his career as an assistant coach and director of scouting for the Chicago Freeze of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) in 1997.
A 1994 graduate of Western Michigan, Schooley was a four-year letterwinner as a defenseman for the Broncos. He advanced to play with the Huntington (W.Va.) Blizzard in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) in 1994-95, and during the 1995-96 campaign spent part of the season with the Blizzard before joining the Flint (Mich.) Generals. While a member of the Generals, Schooley helped guide the club to a Colonial Hockey League (CoHL) championship. In 1996-97 Schooley played for both the Pensacola Ice Pilots and the Peoria Riverman of the ECHL.
A native of St. Louis, Mo., Schooley and his wife, Alicia, have three children, daughters Kaitlyn and Taylor and son Brendan.
Robert Morris, which owns an overall record of 5-3 so far in 2007-08, will host Ohio State tonight as part of the College Hockey Showcase at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa. The Colonials will complete the home-and-home series with the Buckeyes Sunday, Nov. 18, with a 2:00 p.m. contest at the Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
