Scott McDonald, the program’s all-time leader in coaching wins, begins his 12th season as the Bruce B. Bates Women’s Hockey Coach at RIT in 2017-18, and sixth at the Division I level. In his tenure, McDonald has transformed the Tigers into one of the most successful and respected teams in all of college hockey.
On Jan. 28, 2017, McDonald won his 200th game behind the bench in a shutout victory over Lindenwood. He helped lead the Tigers to the College Hockey America Semifinals last season. In the classroom, 17 players earned CHA All-Academic Team honors. Caitlin Wallace was the 2017 CHA Individual Sportsperson of the Year, while Mackenzie Stone was the Defensive Forward of the Year.
In 2015, McDonald signed a five-year contract extension through the 2019-20 season. That summer, McDonald became the Bruce B. Bates Women’s Hockey Coach, the university’s first endowed coaching position for Tiger athletic programs.
The Tigers made history in just their second season as a Division I program in the 2013-14 season, winning the CHA Championship in double overtime against Mercyhurst University, who advanced to the 2014 Frozen Four. RIT won its final seven games of the season and finished with a 20-15-3 mark. The Tigers moved into the 4,300-seat Gene Polisseni Center in 2014-15 and won the CHA Championship for the second straight season, emerging as the No. 6 seed to knock off the top three teams and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time as a Division I program.
On March 17, 2012, McDonald and RIT defeated Norwich University 4-1 to claim its first NCAA Division III Championship in its final season at that level. 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, finishing with an NCAA record 28 wins (28-1-1).
Three days later, RIT announced its intention to move to the Division I level. McDonald and the Tigers made a successful transition to the Division I ranks in 2012-13, as the team finished 16-16-5 and advanced to the College Hockey America Semifinals. RIT recorded wins over established programs Robert Morris, Yale and Brown in its first Division I year.
In 11 seasons as head coach at RIT, McDonald has compiled an overall record of 201-126-26. He is Division III’s all-time leader with a .835 winning percentage and is RIT’s all-time leader in coaching victories, earning 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 2010-11, the Tigers opened the season by winning their first 17 games and were unbeaten in 23 straight games. RIT won its first ECAC West Championship, while making a trip to the NCAA Division III National Championship game and the program’s first No. 1 ranking. The Tigers finished 26-2-2 and boasted three All-Americans, including three-time selection Sarah Dagg, the Laura Hurd National Player of the Year.
McDonald, the 2009 and 2011 ECAC West Coach of the Year, has led the Tigers to one NCAA Division I Tournament appearance, three NCAA Division III Tournament berths, two ECAC West Championships, and two CHA titles. The Tigers won at least 19 games in each of his first six seasons behind the bench and have won at least 20 games five times. He has coached nine different AHCA All-Americans, 36 All-ECAC West selections, seven All-CHA picks, and three consecutive Rochester Press Radio Club Paychex Local Female College Athletes of the Year (Katie Stack, 2009; Dagg, 2010; and Kristina Moss, 2011).
Under McDonald’s tutelage, the Tigers have not only excelled on the ice and in the classroom, but have become active members in the community. The women’s hockey program has participated in several fundraising initiatives for organizations such as Black Out Heart Disease, CURE Childhood Cancer, Autism Up, “One Team One Fight,” the Testicular Cancer Foundation of Western New York, and “Do It For Daron.” RIT was honored by the NCAA for its excellent Academic Progress Rate (APR), as it received a Public Recognition Award for the second straight year in 2016.
In McDonald’s first season of 2006-07, he led Tigers to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in program history, while shattering the previous school record for wins in a season (22). He coached two RBK Division III All-Americans (Stacey McConnell and Danielle Nagymarosi) and boasted the leading two scorers in the country. Two years later, he led the Tigers to a 21-3-2 record; they were ranked second nationally, the highest in program history.
McDonald led the Western team to the Gold Medal at the 2010 Empire State Games in Buffalo. He also served as an assistant coach with the IK Viking Ishockeyklubb’s[Office1] [Office2] junior team in Sweden.
A 2000 graduate of Niagara University, McDonald played defense for the Purple Eagles 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 titles.
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 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.
Prior to college, he played in Toronto for the St. Michael’s Buzzers and the North York Rangers. Professionally, McDonald played in Hagfors, Sweden, for the IK Viking Ishockeyklubb. Prior to that, McDonald played with the San Angelo (Texas) Outlaws of the Western Professional Hockey League.
McDonald earned a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from Niagara University in 2000. McDonald lives in Victor, N.Y., with his wife, Christina, and daughters, Summer and Sienna.
