Billy Donlon
American college basketball coach
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William Joseph Donlon (born February 10, 1977) is an American college basketball coach as the head coach for Eastern Michigan. He has previously served as head coach at Wright State University and at the University of Missouri–Kansas City.
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Eastern Michigan |
| Conference | MAC |
| Record | 0–0 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | February 10, 1977 Northbrook, Illinois, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1996–1999 | UNC Wilmington |
| Position | Guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1999–2000 | American (assistant) |
| 2000–2001 | St. Peters (assistant) |
| 2001–2006 | UNC Wilmington (assistant) |
| 2006–2010 | Wright State (assoc. HC) |
| 2010–2016 | Wright State |
| 2016–2017 | Michigan (assistant) |
| 2017–2019 | Northwestern (assistant) |
| 2019–2022 | Kansas City |
| 2022–2026 | Clemson (associate HC) |
| 2026–present | Eastern Michigan |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 155–133 (.538) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| Horizon League Coach of the Year (2013) | |
Playing career
Donlon played four years of basketball at UNC Wilmington under Jerry Wainwright, scoring 901 career points and handing out 457 assists.[1] After graduation, Donlon played professionally in France, Germany, and Ireland.
Coaching career
Donlon started his coaching career with American and St. Peters as an assistant coach before returning to his alma mater to be an assistant coach under Brad Brownell for four seasons. He followed Brownell when he accepted the position at Wright State. When Brownell departed for the head coaching position at Clemson, Donlon was elevated to the head coach of the Raiders.[2][3]
Wright State athletic director Bob Grant said: “Coach Donlon brings not only an ability to continue what has been laid in place but also a wealth of basketball knowledge and expertise to his new position. We are confident that Billy will continue building our program and take Raider basketball to another level of success.”
On March 18, 2016, Wright State fired Donlon after 6 seasons as head coach.[4]
On May 4, 2016, Donlon was named assistant head coach for the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team.[5]
On June 25, 2017, Donlon was hired as an assistant coach for the Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team, replacing Pat Baldwin, who had taken the head coaching job at Milwaukee.[6]
On March 26, 2019, Donlon was named the head coach of the UMKC men's basketball team. He replaced Kareem Richardson and is the first UMKC coach to take the position with previous head coaching experience since 2001.[7] On April 21, 2022 Donlon resigned as head coach in order to "pursue other opportunities".[8]
On April 25, 2022 Donlon was announced as the associate head coach at Clemson University, reuniting with Brownell for the third time as an assistant coach.[9]
On March 17, 2026, Donlon was hired as the 31st head coach at Eastern Michigan University following the firing of Stan Heath. He remained with Clemson to coach the team in the NCAA tournament.[10]
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wright State Raiders (Horizon League) (2010–2016) | ||||||||||
| 2010–11 | Wright State | 19–14 | 10–8 | T–5th | ||||||
| 2011–12 | Wright State | 13–19 | 7–11 | 8th | ||||||
| 2012–13 | Wright State | 23–13 | 10–6 | T–3rd | CBI Semifinal | |||||
| 2013–14 | Wright State | 21–15 | 10–6 | 3rd | CIT Second Round | |||||
| 2014–15 | Wright State | 11–20 | 3–13 | 8th | ||||||
| 2015–16 | Wright State | 22–13 | 13–5 | T–2nd | ||||||
| Wright State: | 109–94 (.537) | 53–49 (.520) | ||||||||
| Kansas City Roos (Western Athletic Conference) (2019–2020) | ||||||||||
| 2019–20 | Kansas City | 16–14 | 8–7 | 4th | ||||||
| Kansas City Roos (The Summit League) (2020–2022) | ||||||||||
| 2020–21 | Kansas City | 11–13 | 7–7 | T–5th | ||||||
| 2021–22 | Kansas City | 19–12 | 12–6 | 3rd | ||||||
| Kansas City: | 46–39 (.541) | 27–20 (.574) | ||||||||
| Total: | 155–133 (.538) | 80–69 (.537) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| ||||||||||
