John Donald Feeley (October 30, 1937 – September 18, 2020) was an American college men's basketball coach. He was the head coach at Sacred Heart University for 13 years and at Fairleigh Dickinson University for three. While at Sacred Heart, Feeley also served as the school's athletic director.[1] Feeley compiled an overall coaching record of 285–148, including an Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season championship in 1981–82.[2]
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 30, 1937 Plainfield, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | September 18, 2020 (aged 82) Southbury, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Bridgeport |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Basketball | |
| 1965–1978 | Sacred Heart |
| 1978–1980 | Yale (assistant) |
| 1980–1983 | Fairleigh Dickinson |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1965–1978 | Sacred Heart |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 285–148 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| ECAC regular season (1982) | |
In the summer of 1983, Feeley discovered 7'6" Sudanese teenager (and future NBA player) Manute Bol while he was playing for the Sudanese national team.[3] Shortly before his discovery, Feeley had been let go by Fairleigh Dickinson due to 'imcompatible' philosophies with the school.[4] Feeley tried using his connections with Cleveland State University to get himself an assistant coaching job, largely with the allure of bringing Bol with him.[5] It did not work out, and Bol eventually enrolled at the University of Bridgeport.[5]
Feeley finished head coaching with a career record of 285 wins and 148 losses. He died on September 18, 2020.[6]
Head coaching record
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sacred Heart Pioneers () (1965–1978) | |||||||||
| 1965–66 | Sacred Heart | 13–8 | |||||||
| 1966–67 | Sacred Heart | 12–12 | |||||||
| 1967–68 | Sacred Heart | 16–10 | |||||||
| 1968–69 | Sacred Heart | 16–8 | |||||||
| 1969–70 | Sacred Heart | 23–6 | |||||||
| 1970–71 | Sacred Heart | 22–6 | 5–3 | NCAA College Division Regional 3rd Place Game | |||||
| 1971–72 | Sacred Heart | 24–4 | NCAA College Division Regional 3rd Place | ||||||
| 1972–73 | Sacred Heart | 17–11 | |||||||
| 1973–74 | Sacred Heart | 14–13 | |||||||
| 1974–75 | Sacred Heart | 20–8 | NCAA Division II Regional 3rd Place | ||||||
| 1975–76 | Sacred Heart | 14–12 | |||||||
| 1976–77 | Sacred Heart | 28–4 | |||||||
| 1977–78 | Sacred Heart | 21–9 | NCAA Division II Elite Eight | ||||||
| Sacred Heart: | 240–111 (.684) | ||||||||
| Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (ECAC Metro) (1980–1983) | |||||||||
| 1980–81 | Fairleigh Dickinson | 12–14 | 8th | ||||||
| 1981–82 | Fairleigh Dickinson | 16–11 | 12–3 | 1st | |||||
| 1982–83 | Fairleigh Dickinson | 17–12 | 9–5 | 2nd (North) | |||||
| Fairleigh Dickinson: | 45–37 (.549) | ||||||||
| Total: | 285-148 (.658) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
References
edit- ^ Elsberry, Chris (November 13, 2010). "Bike and SHU's success go hand in hand". CTpost.com. Connecticut Post. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
- ^ "Donald Feeley Coaching Record". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
- ^ Albom, Mitch (February 20, 1985). "The King Dinka Dunker: 7-6 Herdsman To NBA?". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
- ^ "Fairleigh Dickinson head basketball coach Jay Donald Feeley will..." United Press International. March 29, 1983. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
- ^ a b L., Peter (March 5, 1985). "7 Feet 6: Bol Enters Big Time". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
- ^ Jacobs, Jeff (September 23, 2020). "Jeff Jacobs: From Fairfield to Sudan, former SHU coach Don Feeley followed a long, unconventional road". Connecticut Post. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2020.