Head coach Derek Schooley believes that his team is ready to regularly compete with other top teams around the nation as his previous teams have shown. Schooley’s teams have provided college hockey and Robert Morris athletics with some major upsets in the past few seasons. In January of 2007, the Colonials knocked off then-No.2 Notre Dame 4-2 in South Bend, IN. In 2007-2008, Robert Morris won the prestigious Nye Frontier Classic in Anchorage, Alaska with an upset of four time national champion and 8th ranked Boston University. However Schooley’s signature wins came in 2009-10 season with a sweep against then-No. 1 ranked Miami (OH).
Schooley, 42, has been a college hockey coach for 16 seasons. In August of 2003, Schooley was named the first head coach in Robert Morris History. Since taking over the RMU program, Schooley has coached 36 players who have ascended from the program and signed a contract with a professional hockey team. Prior to coming to Robert Morris, Schooley spent four years at the Air Force Academy as an Assistant Coach before spending one season at Air Force as Associate Head Coach. Before arriving at Air Force, Schooley spent a season as an assistant coach with Cornell during the 1997-98 season.
He started his coaching career with the Chicago Freeze of the North American Hockey League in 1997 as an assistant coach and director of scouting. Schooley has been a head coach at the USA Hockey Select 14, 15, 16 and 17 Festivals. He also has spoken at numerous USA Hockey youth coaching clinics as well as the USA Hockey Masters Coaching Clinic. In August of 2002, Schooley gained international coaching experience as he was named an assistant coach of the United States Under-18 Select Team, which placed fifth in the Junior World Cup in Breclav, Czech Republic, and Piestany, Slovakia.
The ninth year head coach enters the 2012-13 season with a record of 104-142-36 in eight seasons at Robert Morris. Schooley led the Colonials to 17 wins and a second-consecutive season with a winning percentage of at least .500 during the 2011-12 campaign. RMU finished seventh in Atlantic Hockey while boasting the best penalty kill in the nation as the successfully killed off 89.9 percent of their penalties. Schooley coached Cody Crichton to the All-Atlantic Hockey Third Team and Tyson Wilson to the Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team.
Schooley led the Colonials to a banner season in 2010-11 guiding the RMU to a school record 18 wins in a season when the Colonials earned their first national ranking. Robert Morris finished fifth in its first season in the Atlantic Hockey Association and hosted its first ever postseason game in the first round of the AHA Tournament. Schooley coached Nathan Longpre and Denny Urban on the All-Atlantic Hockey first-team and helped Urban to All-American honors from the CollegeHockeyBlog.com. Schooley also coached goaltender Brooks Ostergard on the third-team all conference honors.
In the 2009-10 season at Mellon Arena (former home to the Pittsburgh Penguins), Schooley led the Colonials to their first win against a team ranked No. 1 in the nation as Robert Morris defeated Miami (OH) in the Pittsburgh College Hockey Showcase. The Colonials followed the win up with a trip to Oxford, Ohio and picked up a sweep against the 2009 National Runners-Up.
During the 2008-09 campaign, Robert Morris got off to a rough start with a team consisting of only four seniors and 14 underclassmen. However, the Colonials rebounded in the second half of the season with a seven-game unbeaten streak. Their record of 10-19-7 and third place finish in College Hockey America featured a run to the CHA Championship game where Robert Morris lost an overtime heartbreaker to an eventual Frozen Four team, Bemidji State. Five of Schooley’s student-athlete’s earned honors from the CHA as Chris Margott, Nathan Longpre and Denny Urban were named to the All-CHA First Team. Brooks Ostergard and James Lyle also garnered conference laurels as they were All-CHA Rookie Team selections.
In 2007-08, Schooley’s Colonials achieved their first 15 win and .500 season going 15-15-4, once again earning a third-place finish in the CHA. The 07-08 season featured many other firsts for Coach Schooley and the Colonial Hockey program. Senior forward Ryan Cruthers was named 2008 CHA Player of the Year and was nominated for the Hobey Baker Award, which is awarded annually to college hockey’s most outstanding player. Senior forward, Joel Gasper was named the CHA Student-Athlete of the Year. Besides the two major CHA Awards, the Colonials placed four members on All League teams (Cruthers 1st Team; Chris Margott 2nd Team; Nathan Longpre and Denny Urban on the All Rookie Team).
Schooley led his team to a 14-19-2 overall record and a third-place finish in the CHA in 2006-07 while placing their first member on a CHA all-league team as Aaron Clarke was named to the All-CHA 2nd Team. The Colonials advanced to the CHA Tournament finals before falling to Alabama-Huntsville, 5-4 in overtime.
In 2005-06, the Colonials increased their win total to twelve wins. The Colonials fourth place finish in the CHA included a win at Schooley’s alma mater Western Michigan (CCHA) along with a win against Princeton (ECAC) and the Colonials first ever playoff win over Air Force in the CHA quarterfinals. Once again, the Colonials placed a member on the CHA All-Rookie Team (Chris Margott).
In their inaugural season, the Colonials finished with an 8-21-4 overall record. Schooley and his staff would win their first ever game at Canisius on October 22, 2004 by the score of 3-1. The Colonials would finish in 3rd place at the 2004 Rensselaer Holiday Hockey Tournament with a 4-2 win over Sacred Heart. The Colonials placed two players, Jace Buzek and Chris Kaufman, on the CHA All-Rookie team.
A 1994 graduate of Western Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications, Schooley was a four-year letterwinner as a defenseman with the Broncos. As a senior during the 1993-94 campaign, he tallied 23 assists and scored 27 points in 40 games, earning Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) Defensive Player of the Week honors Feb 4, 1994. Also during the 1993-94 campaign he was given the KOHA Grinder of the Year award and led the Broncos in plus-minus ratio with a +22. Following his graduation from Western Michigan, Schooley played for the Huntington (W. Va.) Blizzard of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) during the 1994-95 season. In 66 games, he scored 18 points and compiled 151 penalty minutes. During the 1995-96 campaign, Schooley spent part of the season with the Blizzard before joining the Flint (Mich.) Generals, where he helped the team to a Colonial Hockey League (CoHL) regular season and playoff championship.
A native of St. Louis, Mo., Schooley is married to the former Alicia Batson from Middleville, Mich. They are the proud parents of Kaitlyn, Brendan and Taylor.
