Steve Donahue gets another shot as a college head coach, an opportunity he thought wouldn’t come again

The former Penn coach, who led the Quakers for a decade, was introduced as the St. Joseph’s men’s basketball coach on Thursday after the sudden departure of Billy Lange.

Steve Donahue's nearly 25-year college head coaching career continued Thursday as he was formally introduced as the 16th head coach at St. Joseph's. Read moreCourtesy of Saint Joseph's Athletics

by Isabella DiAmore

Published Sept. 11, 2025, 1:59 p.m. ET

When Penn fired Steve Donahue in March, he thought his time as a college head coach was over. The Delaware County native had been at the helm of three men’s basketball programs across nearly 25 years, the last decade spent at Penn.

Former St. Joseph’s coach Billy Lange pushed for Donahue to join the men’s basketball staff as an associate head coach and hired him in May. The two have been close friends for years. Both grew up in the area, worked as assistants under legendary coaches like Herb Magee and Fran Dunphy, and understand the history and significance of the Big 5.

But suddenly, plans changed. On Wednesday, St. Joe’s confirmed the departure of Lange, who is joining the New York Knicks to run their player development program. Then Donahue was presented with an opportunity he thought “may not be available” again — to be a college head coach.

“It is mind-boggling to me,” Donahue said. “The excitement level to be the leader of this program — I love to coach. I love being on the court. I love helping young people. … I am incredibly grateful to Jill [Bodensteiner, the school’s athletic director] and president [Cheryl A.] McConnell that they thought this highly of me.

“I’m going to do everything I can to prove them right.”

Donahue was introduced as the Hawks’ 16th head coach on Thursday morning over Zoom.

He finished his career with the Quakers with a 131-130 record. He previously served as head coach at Cornell and then Boston College, which competes in the ACC. His career record is 331-344.

Donahue, 63, understands that the Ivies differ from the Atlantic 10 in terms of resources, recruiting, and name, image, and likeness. The coach knows it will be an adjustment, but he also spent the last five months building the Hawks’ current roster alongside Lange and getting to know the players.

“I probably didn’t have this kind of length, size, and athleticism in the lineup [during his previous stops],” Donahue said. “I need to take advantage of that, and that’s kind of what Billy and I envisioned five months ago when we were putting this roster together. I do think that will be somewhat different when you see us play.”

However, the players came to Hawk Hill with the impression that Lange would be their coach. Donahue got a call on Sunday from Lange, who said there was a possibility he would be moving on from the program. On Tuesday night, Lange confirmed he was taking the position with the Knicks.

The St. Joe’s staff, including Lange, wanted to address the team before word got out, but by Wednesday morning, the news leaked. When he did gather with the players, Donahue described the locker room as “emotional.”

“They were really taken aback by this late decision,” he said. “We’re going through each guy individually. … I think I developed a really good relationship with all these guys. And as I said, I do think they know me now. I think they like what I’m telling them. The vision is the same. It’s very similar.

“Obviously, the messaging from me will be slightly different, but I’m not going to assume that every single guy in that locker room likes what happened. I’m going to respect them and try to serve them and try to elevate them, as Billy’s core values state, to make sure we cover all that and move forward in the right direction.”

The quick turnaround raised questions about Donahue being named to a permanent role rather than serving as an interim. It was important, Bodensteiner said, to keep some continuity within the program. A formal coaching search was considered but didn’t seem like the right option, with an established roster and the season starting in about seven weeks.

So the messaging has been about moving forward. The Hawks will see a similar approach to the way Lange led, but Donahue is feeling motivated to take advantage of the opportunity. Before the press conference ended, he told the media, “I am all-in, and I have no ego — my job is to elevate [the program] and take it to another level.”

Time will determine if St. Joe’s can get past the semifinal hump in the conference tournament and make an NCAA Tournament appearance, a feat Lange was unable to achieve in his six seasons in charge.

“Life is going to throw you these things, and it’s all about how you deal with it,” Donahue said. “But no matter what in life, you’re going have to move forward. Not just move on, but move forward. That’s my message to these guys, and everybody’s different. It may take a couple of days, it may take a week. It’s our responsibility as coaches to help them through the process.”