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UVM hockey coach retires after 19 years
By Patrick Garrity
Free Press Staff Writer
Mike Gilligan steered the University of Vermont men's hockey program through two decades, from the soaring heights of the national semifinals to the heartbreaking depths of a canceled season.
That stewardship ended Friday morning when the stoic coach stepped down after 19 seasons and 614 games.
Gilligan, 55, leaves as one of college hockey's all-time leaders in coaching victories and is only one of three men to coach the Catamounts in their 40-year history. He will take a position as a special assistant to the school's new athletic director, Bob Corran, focusing on fund-raising and development.
"All I wanted to do was get the team to a point where I think it was comfortable to give it to somebody else," Gilligan said. "I think it's in that position right now."
"Personally, I'm really happy he's going to stay with us," Corran said. "It will enable us to bridge to the next coach and next staff and also to the plans we want to put in place to really jump up the program to the next level."
Gilligan's decision is the latest and most significant in a month of upheaval for the UVM athletic department.
Two weeks ago, women's basketball coach Keith Cieplicki bolted for Syracuse. Last week, Corran's hiring ended a four-month search for Rick Farnham's successor as athletic director. Ski director Chip LaCasse and track and field coach Ed Kusiak each completed 30-year tenures at the school year's end.
The changes come as UVM has renewed its commitment to the athletic program, underscored by president Dan Fogel's public comments and Corran's lofty $140,000 salary. Gilligan's departure leaves a vacancy at the helm of the school's flagship team.
The Catamounts draw 4,000 fans on winter nights to Gutterson Fieldhouse for each home game. The waiting list for season tickets remains long and stubborn. Seven former Catamounts have gone on to skate in the National Hockey League. Two, John LeClair and Aaron Miller, played in the 2002 Winter Olympics.
"It's a very important program to the university, to the community and to the entire state of Vermont," said Jeff Schulman, assistant athletic director and a former defenseman under Gilligan. "So, while we're going to try to move quickly to get this finished, we're going to be very thorough."
Gilligan's teams won 279 games, played in three NCAA tournaments and reached the Final Four in 1996 behind stars Martin St. Louis, Eric Perrin and Tim Thomas. But the Catamounts have struggled recently. The 13-20-3 record this winter marked the team's sixth consecutive losing campaign, a period scarred by a hazing scandal that resulted in the cancellation of the 1999-2000 season.
"I know a lot of people who gave up their season tickets because they'd had enough," said Scott Boyson, a hockey fan from Milton. "I think the change is good. They've got to get that enthusiasm back."
Through the unprecedented highs and joyless lows, Gilligan remained the program's anchor. Quiet and private, the native of Beverly, Mass., became known for his cool demeanor and measured public comments. He also came to be revered by many of the young men who skated for him.
"He's a big reason why I went to UVM," said Miller, an All-American defenseman in the early 1990s who stars in the NHL for the Los Angeles Kings. "A lot of times, a coach is just a coach, but he's a friend of mine."
"He's been a role model for many of the players," said junior captain Brady Leisenring, "a guy you know you can go to when you have a problem."
Gilligan pointed to the professional success of players like Miller, St. Louis and John LeClair and the 1996 NCAA tournament win over Lake Superior State as highlights. He said, however, he would like to remembered for other accomplishments.
"We tried to give kids, every kid we brought in, a pretty good shot. When I brought a kid in and I made a commitment to that kid, we lived up to it," he said. "That's one thing we did pretty well.
"The other thing we did is show the kids that treating people a certain way was important, that it was important to maintain some dignity, some respect for people. I thought our guys always did a fabulous job in that way."
Free Press Sports Editor Ted Ryan contributed to this report. Contact Patrick Garrity at 660-1868 or pgarrity@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com
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