William Joseph Donlon (born February 10, 1977) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach for Eastern Michigan University. He has previously served as head coach at Wright State University and at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
 Donlon in 2026 | |
| 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
editDonlon 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
editAssistant coach (1999–2010)
editDonlon 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 at UNC Wilmington. He followed Brownell when he accepted the position at Wright State.[citation needed]
Wright State (2010–2016)
editDonlon was elevated to the position of head coach at Wright State following Brownell's departed for Clemson University.[2] At the time of his hiring, Wright State athletic director Bob Grant praised Donlon's basketball knowledge and expertise.[3]
On March 18, 2016, Wright State fired Donlon after 6 seasons as head coach.[4]
Return to assistant coaching (2016–2019)
editOn 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]
Kansas City (2019–2022)
editOn March 26, 2019, Donlon was named the head coach of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He replaced Kareem Richardson, and was the first Kansas City 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]
Third assistant coaching stint (2022–2026)
editOn 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]
Eastern Michigan (2026–present)
editOn 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 throughout the 2026 NCAA tournament.[10]
Head coaching record
edit| 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) | ||||||||
| Eastern Michigan Eagles (Mid-American Conference) (2026–present) | ||||||||||
| 2026–27 | Eastern Michigan | 0–0 | 0–0 | |||||||
| Eastern Michigan: | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | ||||||||
| Total: | 155–133 (.538) | 80–69 (.537) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| ||||||||||
References
edit- ↑ "Billy Donlon College Stats".
- ↑ Mottram, Chris (13 April 2010). "Wright State's Brad Brownell to Replace Oliver Purnell as Clemson Coach". sbnation.com. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ↑ "Wright State Raiders promote assistant Billy Donlon to Head Coach, succeeding Brad Brownell". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 14 April 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ↑ Borzello, Jeff; Goodman, Jeff (19 March 2016). "Wright State Raiders fire coach Billy Donlon". ESPN.com. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ↑ "Donlon, Washington Named Assistant Coaches". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. 4 May 2016. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
- ↑ Ryan, Shannon (26 June 2017). "Northwestern hires Billy Donlon as assistant basketball coach". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ↑ Schiffer, Alex (29 March 2019). "Billy Donlon will draw from his Northwestern, Michigan days to build UMKC basketball". Kansas City Star. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
- ↑ "Kansas City Men's Basketball Head Coach Donlon to Pursue Other Opportunities". University of Missouri Kansas City Athletics. 21 April 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
- ↑ "Brownell Adds Donlon, Dixon to Coaching Staff". Clemson University Athletics. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ↑ Wickliffe, Greg (17 March 2026). "Eastern Michigan hires Billy Donlon as 31st men's basketball head coach". mlive.com. Retrieved 17 March 2026.