Ed Cooley took another step in his remarkable basketball journey Sunday afternoon when Providence College defeated Butler, 69-62, at the Dunk for Cooley’s 210th victory as coach of the Friars.
Two weeks after notching his 300th career victory, this native son of Providence eased ahead of Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Dave Gavitt into second place on PC’s list of winning basketball coaches.
Cooley is 210-137 in his 11th season at PC. Gavitt was 209-84 in his 10 seasons on the Friars bench. Cooley tied Gavitt last Thursday in Providence’s 83-75 triumph over Georgetown.
Joe Mullaney, who led Providence to national prominence in the 1960s, stands atop the Providence victory podium with 319 during his 18 seasons.
PC improved to 16-2, its best start in Cooley’s tenure, and 6-1 in the Big East, its best conference start. The Friars, ranked No. 21 in both college polls last week, are certain to move up when the new rankings are announced Monday.
Mullaney and Gavitt coached so long ago that their records have faded like old black and white snapshots in a shoe box. Current students may not even recognize their names. So let’s hit refresh and lend some context to what Cooley has accomplished.
Mullaney coached the Friars to nine consecutive 20-win seasons from 1959 to 1967. In 1960 they reached the final of the prestigious National Invitation Tournament and lost to Bradley. PC’s Lenny Wilkens, a future Hall of Famer, was the MVP. Providence returned to the NIT in 1961 and beat Saint Louis for the title. Vinnie Ernst, the Friars 5-foot-8-inch point guard, was the MVP. Thousands of Friar fans lined the return route to Providence and cheered the champions. PC also qualified for the NCAA tournament three times under Mullaney.
Gavitt took over the program in 1969 — after Mullaney left to coach the Los Angeles Lakers — and led the Friars to eight consecutive 20-win seasons and five NCAA Tournaments from 1971 through 1978. The 1973 team reached the Final Four .
In the 1972-73 season, Gavitt’s Friars opened the Providence Civic Center, the sparkling new downtown arena that supplanted Alumni Hall as their home. They won so often in the ‘70s that they became known throughout New England. Ernie DeGregorio, the flashy point guard from North Providence. Marvin Barnes, the dominant scorer and rebounder from South Providence. Kevin Stacom, the shooter who transferred from Holy Cross. Fran Costello, the big man from Catholic Memorial in West Roxbury, Mass. Joe “Sonar” Hassett, the scorer from La Salle Academy in Providence. Rick Santos, who traveled from Central High School in Providence to Rhode Island Junior College to PC. Bruce “Soup” Campbell and Billy Eason from Connecticut. Bob Misevicius, the burly center whose long bank shot at the end of double overtime on a feed from Campbell upset top-ranked Michigan, 62-61, in the final of the 1976 Industrial National Classic. Mark McAndrew, the scrappy Friar from Westerly.
Gavitt enjoyed intense yet respectful rivalries with Dee Rowe at UConn, Lou Carnesecca at St. John’s, George Blaney at Holy Cross, and Bob Zuffelato at Boston College. Also PC’s athletics director, he left the bench after the 1979 season to form the original Big East Conference.
Eight men coached Providence College basketball in the three decades between Gavitt and Cooley. They accounted for seven NCAA Tournament appearances. Rick Barnes made three, Tim Welsh two and Pete Gillen and Rick Pitino one each. Pitino’s 1987 team reached the Final Four.
That history greeted Cooley when he accepted the PC job in 2011 after five years at Fairfield. He knew the story. He knew he was following in the footsteps of giants in Mullaney and Gavitt. So far, he has succeeded in reviving and maintaining the tradition they started. He has five NCAA appearance, same as Gavitt. He had 209 victories, same as Gavitt. But today, in the house that Gavitt built a half-century ago, Ed Cooley changed all that. He took Gavitt’s seat at the victory table.
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Bob Driscoll, the man who hired Cooley in 2011, is retiring in June after two decades leading the Providence College athletics program. PC announced the move on Friday.
Driscoll’s legacy includes enhanced facilities on campus and at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center downtown; a coaching staff that has produced NCAA Tournament teams in multiple sports and national championships in men’s ice hockey and women’s cross-country, and a fund-raising arm that generated $5 million in donations for fiscal year 2021 to support the college’s 19 intercollegiate teams.
The biggest construction project on PC small campus in the Elmhurst neighborhood was the $35-million Ruane Center, the training facility for men’s basketball and an innovation and sports medicine hub for the college’s 350 athletes, 97 percent of whom graduate.
Driscoll also directed construction of Anderson Stadium for men’s and women’s soccer and men’s lacrosse, the Concanon Fitness Center, and Glay Field for softball, and the renovation of Schneider Arena, home of PC hockey.
They say an athletics director’s most important job is hiring and retaining good coaches. Driscoll stumbled with Susan Yow in women’s basketball, Tim Army in men’s hockey and Keno Davis in men’s basketball, but he hit home runs with Cooley and men’s hockey coach Nate Leaman. Keeping cross-country and track coach Ray Treacy has paid handsome dividends.
Jill LaPoint, senior women’s administrator; Steve Napolillo, fund raising, and Arthur Parks, communications, have been longtime and important members of Driscoll’s management team.
Driscoll’s career in athletics administration has taken him from the East Coast to the West Coast and back. He has made a difference at Ithaca College, his alma mater, where he played hockey and baseball; Union College; Mills College in Oakland, Calif., and the University of California-Berkeley. He has made a profound difference at Providence College.
