Head coach Derek Schooley completed his 19th season at the helm of Robert Morris in 2023-24, carrying an overall record of 296-320-76 and a proud record of championship-level success in Division I men's hockey.
Schooley, 54, led the Colonials to back-to-back Atlantic Hockey regular season titles in 2014-15 and 2015-16 and a postseason AHA title/NCAA tournament berth in 2013-14. In the seven-season span from 2012-19, Schooley's Colonials averaged 20 wins per season and have consistently placed 20-plus student-athletes on the AHA All-Academic team. Since joining Atlantic Hockey 11 seasons ago, the Colonials have reached the Atlantic Hockey Final Four six of the past seven tournaments while having .554 overall winning percentage and .556 in Atlantic Hockey. Schooley has the second best coaches winning percentage of all games in the history of Atlantic Hockey.
Under Schooley, the Colonials got off to their best start in program history in 2021 at 11-3 and saw themselves ranked within the USCHO Top 20 for much of the season, reaching a program-best #17 in January. At 15-9 overall and 10-5-0 in AHA play, the Colonials earned a West Division title and Schooley his second AHA Coach of the Year Award while boasting the conference MVP, Rookie of the Year, and Defenseman of the Year. The top offensive team in AHA and one of the most prolific in all of college hockey, RMU's 85 goals was one of the highest totals in all of NCAA DI, and their 25% success rate on the power-play was tops in the conference.
The 2019-2020 campaign saw the Colonials battle through injury and adversity in a way few RMU squads had before. Though their 13-19-5 regular season mark was below their normal standards of success, the Colonials once again found a way to win it mattered most. With a 2-1 series triumph over Holy Cross in the opening round of the 2020 AHA Tournament, the Colonials further cemented their status as a team built for the playoffs by winning their tenth consecutive three-game series in as many attempts since the 2013-14 campaign and advancing to the AHA quarterfinal against Sacred Heart before the matchup was eventually canceled due to COVID-19.
Featuring 11 freshmen on the 2018-19 team, the 15th edition of the Colonials finished the season hot, winning six out of seven to reach their AHA record-tying sixth consecutive semifinal. Along the way, RMU dispatched Holy Cross (two games) and second-seeded Bentley (three games) to get a chance to knock off regular-season champ American International. The Colonials fell in overtime to the 20th-ranked team, but the late-season push stoked hopes for the 16th season of RMU men's pucks.
Although the Colonials fell below .500 (18-20-3) in 2017-18 for the first time this decade, they still rallied in the postseason to reach the AHA championship game for the third consecutive season, and fourth in the past five years. RMU became just the second AHA program to make the league's final four in five consecutive seasons, dating back to their postseason title in 2014.
Schooley reached his 200th career victory in the 2016-17 campaign, guiding the program to its second consecutive appearance in the Atlantic Hockey tournament championship game. Robert Morris claimed another Three Rivers Classic title with a 5-2 win over 14th-ranked Quinnipiac. With a 22-12-4 overall record, the Colonials posted their fourth 20-plus win season in the last five years. RMU collected three victories over ranked teams under Schooley, with a 6-3 victory to knock off previously unbeaten No. 11 Ohio State on the Buckeyes home ice (and earn a 4-4 tie at RMU the next game), as well as a 6-2 win over #20 Canisius to advance to the AHC championship game.
In the 2015-16 season, Schooley led Robert Morris to tie the program's win record in a season with 24 victories and a 24-11-4 record, en route to the team's second conference regular season title and an appearance in the league tournament championship game. An eventful season included three wins over top 15 programs, starting with a 4-0 shutout of No. 10 Michigan at Yost Ice Arena on Oct. 31. The other victories over ranked programs came while winning a Championship at the Three Rivers Classic tournament at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, 6-4 over No. 14 Penn State and 5-3 over No. 8 UMass Lowell. The nine seniors in the Class of 2016 graduated as the winningest class in program history, recording 87 wins four seasons under Coach Schooley. Each of those seniors moved on to play professional hockey, including a trio of players in the AHL.
In the 2014-15 season, Schooley and Robert Morris set the program's win record in a season with 24 victories and a 24-8-5 record, en route to the team's first conference regular season title. The best team in program history, the 14-15 squad opened up the season with a nine-game unbeaten streak (7-0-2), put together a separate nine-game unbeaten streak in January and February of that year, and led all of Atlantic Hockey with a blistering 3.79 goals per game. League MVP Zac Lynch helped guide RMU to a win over Niagara in the first round of the AHA Tournament, keeping the Colonials legacy of postseason success alive.
Schooley was named 2014-15 Atlantic Hockey Association Coach of the Year after the Colonials record-win season (24-8-5) & first regular season championship. Schooley was also among eight finalists for the Spencer Penrose Award, given to the nation’s top coach in college hockey.
In 2013-14, he led the Colonials to their first conference title and inaugural NCAA Tournament appearance.
“I feel very fortunate to have started something very special from the ground up,” Schooley said. “Making the NCAA Tournament was very exciting for not only me personally, but for everyone who has been involved in the first decade of RMU hockey.”
2013-14 was a banner year in many ways for RMU, as their Atlantic Hockey Association title capped a torrid second half of the season that saw the Colonials compile a 17-6-3 record from January on. RMU went 6-1 in the AHA playoffs, culminating in an overtime win over Niagara in the semifinals and a 7-4 defeat of Canisius in the final. Although the Colonials fell to No. 1-ranked Minnesota in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, they had officially gone where no RMU hockey team had gone before.
During the 2012-13 season, the Colonials knocked off three nationally-ranked teams en route to a 20-win campaign. Two seven-game unbeaten streaks allowed Schooley to guide his squad to a fifth-place regular season finish. After winning the inaugural Three Rivers Classic against a nationally ranked Miami squad, Schooley and his team earned their second national ranking in program history as the Colonials broke into the polls as the No. 19 team in the country heading into January and the Colonials finished the season tops in the NCAA in short-handed goals scored.
RMU finished seventh in Atlantic Hockey during the 2011-12 season while boasting the best penalty kill in the nation as they successfully killed off 89.9 percent of their penalties.
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.
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 (Ohio) 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.
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 2007-08 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. Robert Morris won the prestigious Nye Frontier Classic in Anchorage, Alaska with an upset of four-time national champion and eighth-ranked Boston University.
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. Schooley’s teams have provided college hockey and Robert Morris athletics with some major upsets. In January of 2007, the Colonials knocked off No. 2 Notre Dame 4-2 in South Bend, Ind. 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.
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 Oct. 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.
Prior to coming to Robert Morris, Schooley spent five years at the Air Force Academy. He was an assistant coach for four years before spending one season as an Associate Head Coach with Air Force. Before arriving at Air Force, Schooley spent a season as an assistant coach with Cornell during the 1997-98 season. Schooley 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.
Following his graduation from Western Michigan, Schooley played for the Huntington 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 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 plus-22. 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.
