Dr. Robert Corran, Vermont’s director of athletics, took a chance hiring a coach whose only head coaching experience had been at the NCAA Division III level.

It’s a good thing he did.

Mike Lonergan, entering his fifth year at UVM, has guided the Catamounts to at least 24 victories twice, three straight winning seasons, a pair of postseason appearances and two America East regular-season titles. His 78-49 (.614) record at Vermont includes the most conference victories (44) and overall wins of any league team over the past four seasons.

In his 16 years as a head coach, Lonergan has enjoyed 13 winning seasons, 13 NCAA tournament victories, 11 regular-season conference titles, 11 postseason appearances, 10 years of 20 or more victories, nine NCAA tournament qualifications and five conference tournament championships. The pinnacle of his career came when he led Catholic University to the 2001 NCAA Division III national championship.

Lonergan, who has coached in college for 21 years, enters the 2009-10 season with a career record of 329-137 (.706).

Success at Vermont

Lonergan last season led the Catamounts to a 24-9 record, a share of the America East regular-season crown (13-3) and only their second postseason victory ever. Vermont’s win at Wisconsin-Green Bay in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational came against a team that had won 22 games and entered the contest 13-1 at home.

UVM earned wins over George Washington and Colorado at the Rainbow Classic in Hawaii, marking its first victories over schools from the Atlantic 10 and Big 12 conferences. Vermont finished 11th in the nation in shooting percentage (48.1 percent) and 34th in scoring (76.8 ppg).

Under Lonergan’s tutelage junior Marqus Blakely was named the 2008-09 Kevin Roberson America East Player of the Year and America East Defensive Player of the Year for a second straight season. Blakely became the first player in league history to be named defensive player of the year twice and is one of only six players in conference history to earn player of the year honors more than once.

Lonergan’s first major recruit, senior Mike Trimboli, ended his Catamount career as the school’s all-time assists leader (624) and finished fourth all-time in scoring with 2,008 points. Trimboli now plays professionally in Poland, while former Vermont teammate Colin McIntosh plays in Portugal.

In 2007-08, UVM’s 16-15 mark included a victory at Binghamton in the league tournament. Lonergan reached a personal milestone in an 81-76 win at Hartford when he earned his 300th career victory.

Lonergan guided Vermont to a 25-8 record in 2006-07 and earned the America East regular-season championship with a 15-1 campaign. The Catamounts tied the season school record for victories and advanced to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) for the first time in school history. UVM also tied for the national lead in road/neutral site victories with 16 and enjoyed a 13-game winning streak. The highlight of the campaign came when Vermont earned its first regular-season victory over a ranked opponent, 77-63 at No. 14 Boston College.

Following the season, Lonergan was named America East Coach of the Year by the league and CollegeInsider.com and District I Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). He was a finalist for the Hugh Durham Mid-Major Coach of the Year award.

When Vermont headed back to the America East championship game that season, Lonergan became the first league coach since Karl Fogel of Northeastern in 1986-87 to take his team to consecutive title game appearances in his first two years. Two of his players from those teams are now playing professionally: Martin Klimes in the Czech Republic and Chris Holm in Japan.

In his first season at UVM (2005-06), Lonergan led the least-experienced team in the nation to the America East title game, becoming the third first-year coach in conference history to take his team that far.

Lonergan is the 15th head coach in the 106-year history of basketball at UVM and the sixth since 1940. He succeeded Tom Brennan, who retired in March 2005 after 19 years as head coach at Vermont.

A Maryland Interlude

Lonergan, 43, was an assistant coach under Gary Williams at Maryland in 2004-05 and helped the Terrapins reached the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden. Maryland’s 19 victories included a 75-66 win at Duke that ended the No. 2 Blue Devils’ 15-game winning streak. The Terps also played in Italy the summer before.

Building One of the Nation’s Finest Programs

Prior to his stint at Maryland, Lonergan was head coach at Catholic University from 1992 to 2004, where he built the Cardinals into an NCAA Division III power. Lonergan’s teams qualified for seven consecutive NCAA Division III tournament appearances and nine overall. He compiled a 251-88 (.740) record during his 12-year tenure and averaged nearly 25 victories over his last seven years. The Cardinals were 88-10 (.898) in Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) regular-season play during that time. He was named CAC Coach of the Year four times and is the only coach in conference history to lead his team to a 14-0 league record (1997-98).

Lonergan was the only coach in the nation at any division to win the regular-season conference title each year in the seven-year span from 1998 to 2004, and he was honored for the feat at the NABC Champions Luncheon during the 2004 Final Four. He was also the nation’s only coach to lead his team to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen each year between 1998 and 2002.

Lonergan guided Catholic to its finest moment in Salem, Va., on March 17, 2001 when his club rallied for a 76-62 victory over William Paterson in the NCAA Division III championship game. The Cardinals culminated the campaign with a school-record 28 victories and Lonergan became the school’s all-time winningest coach in the title game. In the national semifinals, Catholic stormed back from an 11-point deficit with 8:14 to play to vanquish then top-ranked Ohio Northern, 82-77. His senior point guard, Pat Maloney, was named Most Outstanding Player, and sophomore power forward Matt Hilleary was named to the All-Tournament team. Lonergan was the consensus choice as Division III national Coach of the Year.

Hilleary played professionally in Italy and Ireland, and another former Cardinal, Patrick Dwyer, played in England.

The Cards followed up their national championship campaign by going 26-3 to set the school winning percentage record (.897).

Lonergan is proud that all of his players at Catholic graduated. Two who finished their careers after Lonergan left for Maryland, Shane Sowden and Stephen Wheeler, received the Harris Cup, the school’s highest honor for male graduating student-athletes. The award is presented in recognition of outstanding achievement in athletics, academics, leadership and service.

Sean Tuohey, who played under Lonergan from 1996-99, is founder and director of PeacePlayers International, an organization that uses sport to unite and educate youngsters in divided communities. It currently operates programs in Northern Ireland, South Africa, Cyprus and the Middle East.

Lonergan’s Cardinals annually played one of the nation’s toughest schedules. Division I opponents included Princeton, American, Davidson and William & Mary. Catholic’s victory over Albany in 2000 was the program’s first over a Division I school since 1981. He also coached a Division III All-American in each of his last five seasons with the Cardinals.

A College Point Guard Learns How to Coach

As a senior co-captain and starting point guard, Lonergan helped guide Catholic to a mark of 18-8, averaging 8.5 points, 5.2 assists, 3 rebounds and 2.3 steals. In 1985-86, the three-year starter helped the Cards (19-8) win the ECAC South Region Tournament. Jimmy Patsos, now head coach at Loyola (Md.) College, was his teammate for three seasons. Lonergan graduated from Catholic in 1988 with a B.A. in history.

While working as an assistant coach at American International College in Springfield, Mass., in 1988-89, Lonergan earned a master’s degree in criminal justice. Before returning to Catholic, he was an assistant at Colgate for three seasons (1989-92). He served as the top recruiter for his former college coach, the late Jack Bruen, who was named Patriot League Coach of the Year in Lonergan’s final season with the Red Raiders.

Lonergan received a special honor in 2000 when he won the first Jack Bruen Award for “unending dedication to the game of basketball.” In 2001 he received Catholic’s Young Alumni Merit Award. Previous winners include New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman, with whom Lonergan attended college. Catholic bestowed the President’s Medal on Lonergan in 2004, his alma mater’s highest honor. The next year he was inducted into the university’s Hall of Fame.

Coaching Tree

Many of Lonergan’s former players and coaches are now coaching in the college ranks. Steve Howes, who played and coached under Lonergan, is heading into his sixth year as Catholic’s head coach. Former UVM assistant John Sanow is in his fourth year as head coach at Bloomsburg (Pa.).

Among former players at Catholic, Aaron Kelly is an assistant coach at Bucknell, Mike Wasilenko assists at Salisbury (Md.) and Adam Dickman is an assistant at Hood. Former manager Andrew Gunderson is an assistant at Averett.

Contributing to His Community

Lonergan has long been active in community and professional organizations. He is a member of the NABC, has served as a spokesperson for the America Cancer Society’s Coaches vs. Cancer program, was co-chairman of the Coaches vs. Cancer Three-Point Shootout Committee, and has volunteered with Special Olympics. A board member of the St. Gabriel Parish Youth Organization and the Knights of Columbus, he was also a member of the Catholic University Alcohol Awareness Advisory Committee.

During the summer of 2007, Lonergan spent a week in Kuwait coaching U.S. soldiers as part of “Operation Hardwood IV: Hoops for Troops.” He was joined by, among others, the late Skip Prosser (Wake Forest) and Mike Brey (Notre Dame).

Family

Michael Thomas Lonergan was born in Silver Spring, Md., on Jan. 28, 1966 and raised in Bowie, Md. An excellent student, he was 1984 salutatorian at Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C., where he played basketball, baseball and soccer. As a senior he was honored with the Georgetown University Outstanding Scholastic Achievement Award. One of his Carroll teammates, Derrick Lewis, starred at Maryland and is the Terrapins’ all-time leader in blocked shots.

Lonergan’s national championship at Catholic wasn’t the first in his family. His father, Jack, was a left-handed pitcher who helped Holy Cross win the 1952 College World Series championship. His late mother, Maureen, was a legendary coach and athletic director at Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg, Md., where the playing fields are named in her honor.

Lonergan is married to the former Maggie Meagher, who played at Mount St. Mary’s from 1990-94 and, as a senior captain, guided the squad to the NCAA Division I tournament for the first time in school history. She coached Catholic’s women’s basketball team for four years and piloted the Cardinals to a 20-7 record in 2004-05.

The Lonergans have four children: son Jack, 10; daughter Margaret, 8; and sons Michael, Jr., 3; and Robert, 1.