David Michael Arseneault (born August 12, 1953) is a former

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

head coach. He invented the

Grinnell System The Grinnell System, sometimes referred to as The System, is a fast-tempo style of basketball developed by coach David Arseneault at Grinnell College. It is a variation of the run-and-gun system popularized by coach Paul Westhead at Loyola Marymo ...

, a run-and-gun style that he employed with the Grinnell Pioneers. He was also an associate professor of

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

on Grinnell's faculty. Arseneault's son, David Jr., who played under his father at Grinnell, later served on his staff and eventually succeeded him as Pioneers head coach.

Early years

Arseneault played college basketball at

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philant ...

, where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in Administrative Science in 1976. As a senior in 1975–76 at

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, Arseneault played 22 games and averaged 5.3 points. He then went to Canada and received a

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...

from

Brock University Brock University is a public research university in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is the only university in Canada in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, at the centre of Canada's Niagara Peninsula on the Niagara Escarpment. The university bears t ...

in 1985.

Coaching career

After playing at UPEI in the 1976–77 season and

Lakehead University Lakehead University is a public research university with campuses in Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ontario, Canada. Lakehead University, shortened to 'Lakehead U', is non-denominational and provincially supported. It has undergraduate programs, gradua ...

in the 1977–78 season, Arseneault coached

in Canada in Ontario Universities Athletics Association, later known as Ontario University Athletics (OAU), for the

Guelph Gryphons The Guelph Gryphons are the athletic teams that represent the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of the U Sports(OUA's), and, where applicable, in ...

and

McMaster Marauders The McMaster Marauders are the athletic teams that represent McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Athletics at McMaster is currently managed by the university's student affairs, under their athletics & recreation department. The unive ...

. He moved to the United States and coached women's basketball in

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

for two years at the now-defunct

Hawthorne College Antrim is a New England town, town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,651 at the 2020 census. The main village in the town, where 1,395 people lived at the 2020 census, is ...

, where he was also their

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...

, before coaching the men's team in rural

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

for the Grinnell Pioneers beginning in 1989. He inherited a Grinnell program, which competed in

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

, that had not had a winning season in 25 years. After a couple years of trying out traditional eight-player rotations, he felt Grinnell needed to change its basketball philosophy to rejuvenate the team and have more fun. Arseneault developed the

. Over 26 years, Grinnell won four conference championships, advanced to the postseason 11 times, and led the nation in scoring at all levels of college basketball in 17 of the past 19 seasons. Areseneault retired in June 2018. He was succeeded by his son, David Jr., who had been serving as the Pioneers' interim head coach. After Grinnell's Jack Taylor twice scored 100 points in a game, including an NCAA-record 138, Arseneault and his program have been criticized for focusing on records and

running up the score Running up the score occurs when a competitor continues to play in such a way as to score additional points after the outcome of the game is no longer in significant question and the team is all but assured of winning. Sporting alternatives inc ...

on overmatched opponents. ''

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'' wrote that Arseneault "has focused less on putting together a successful team and more on getting his players' names in the record books." However, former Grinnell player Ross Preston, author of the book ''The Road to 138'', counters that Arseneault transformed a program that was a combined 52–222 with no championships under its four previous coaches, and the choice to use his system was to improve the program, with the scoring records being only a byproduct. Under Arseneault, Grinnell has designated select games to pursue a record. Three times an Arseneault-coached player has set the

single-game scoring record, each time against an opponent from a lower division. His son and then-Grinnell associate head coach David Jr. said the team allowed one player to score so much since Grinnell was trying to win their conference and lead the nation in scoring, and their "best hope of winning a conference title is our best player playing at a high level." Earlier as a player with Grinnell, David Jr. once set the national record for assists in a game (34) when the team was instructed to shoot only if they received the pass from him. Critics have hinted that Arseneault designed the Grinnell System as a scheme to get national attention and sell books. Preston countered that the system started as a means to turn around a losing program; he added that Arseneault was a member of the Grinnell faculty and expected to share his insights with peers in his field. Critics including Gregg Doyel of CBSSports.com charged that Arseneualt influenced his book sales by having his players' scoring records coincide with the books' release. In August 2013, Arseneault released his second book, titled ''System Successes''; during the 2013–14 season, Taylor scored 109 points and Grinnell guard Patrick Maher set an NCAA record with 37 assists, breaking David Jr.'s previous record. Taylor' big game came against

Crossroads College Crossroads College (originally International Christian Bible College and later Minnesota Bible College) was a four-year, coeducational Christian college in Rochester, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1913 and ceased offering classes in ...

, which played in

National Christian College Athletic Association The National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) is an association of Christian universities, colleges, and Bible colleges in the United States and Canada whose mission is "the promotion and enhancement of intercollegiate athletic ...

(NCCAA), a level below

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its st ...

(NAIA), which was lower than Grinnell's Division III; Maher's record was against College of Faith, a 100-person Christian school with a new sports program and an 0–10 record.

Head coaching record

Publications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arseneault, David 1953 births Living people American women's basketball coaches Brock University alumni Colby Mules men's basketball players College athletic directors in the United States College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Grinnell College faculty Grinnell Pioneers men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Guards (basketball)