John Donald Feeley (October 30, 1937 – September 18, 2020) was an American college men's basketball coach. He was the head coach at

Sacred Heart University Sacred Heart University (SHU) is a private, Catholic university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded in 1963 by the Most Reverend Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sacred Heart was the first Catholic un ...

for 13 years and at

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

for three. While at Sacred Heart, Feeley also served as the school's

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 and ...

. Feeley compiled an overall coaching record of 285–148, including an

Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 15 sports (13 men's and 13 women's). It has 220 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location fro ...

regular season championship in 1981–82. In the summer of 1983, Feeley discovered 7'6" Sudanese teenager (and future

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

player)

Manute Bol Manute Bol (; October 16, 1962 – June 19, 2010) was a Sudanese-American professional basketball player and political activist. Listed at or tall, Bol was tied with Gheorghe Mureșan as the tallest player in the history of the National Bask ...

while he was playing for the Sudanese national team. Shortly before his discovery, Feeley had been let go by Fairleigh Dickinson due to 'imcompatible' philosophies with the school. Feeley tried using his connections with

Cleveland State University Cleveland State University (CSU) is a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in operation since 1923. ...

to get himself an assistant coaching job, largely with the allure of bringing Bol with him. It did not work out, and Bol eventually enrolled at the

University of Bridgeport The University of Bridgeport (UB) is a private university in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. In 2021, the university was purchased by Goodwin University; it retain its own n ...

. Feeley finished head coaching with a career record of 285 wins and 148 losses. He died on September 18, 2020.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feeley, Don 1937 births 2020 deaths American men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Connecticut Fairleigh Dickinson Knights men's basketball coaches High school basketball coaches in the United States Sacred Heart Pioneers athletic directors Sacred Heart Pioneers men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Fairfield, Connecticut University of Bridgeport alumni Yale Bulldogs men's basketball coaches