Donald Elliott Flanagan (born November 29, 1943) is an American retired basketball coach. From 1995 to 2011, Flanagan was head coach of the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

women's basketball team.

Early life and college education

Born in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

and raised in the

Mayberry Village Mayberry Village is an area in east central East Hartford, Connecticut. The neighborhood was originally developed in the 1940s to house the influx of people who worked at Pratt and Whitney and other defense industries in Connecticut. It is roughly ...

community of

New Hartford, Connecticut New Hartford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 6,658 at the 2020 census. The town center is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the New Hartford Center census-designated place (CDP). The town is mainl ...

, Flanagan graduated from

Cornwall Academy Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

after attending

East Hartford High School East Hartford High School is a public high school of the East Hartford, Connecticut Public Schools. East Hartford High Schools shares its campus and many of its programs with the Connecticut International Baccalaureate Academy (CIBA), an honors co ...

for three years and earned a basketball scholarship to

Hartwick College Hartwick College is a private liberal arts college in Oneonta, New York. The institution's origin is rooted in the founding of Hartwick Seminary in 1797 through the will of John Christopher Hartwick. In 1927, the Seminary moved to expand into a ...

, but he dropped out after one year. Flanagan worked in

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

before moving to

Durango, Colorado Durango is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 19,071 at the 2020 United States Census. Durango is the home of Fort Lewis Coll ...

to enroll at

Fort Lewis College Fort Lewis College is a public liberal arts college in Durango, Colorado. Because of its unique origins as a military fort turned Indian boarding school turned state public school, FLC follows a 1911 mandate to give qualified Native Americans a ...

in 1967. Flanagan graduated from Fort Lewis in 1971 with a double major in elementary education and physical education. Flanagan played at

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

for the

Fort Lewis Skyhawks The Fort Lewis Skyhawks are the athletic teams that represent Fort Lewis College, located in Durango, Colorado, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Skyhawks compete as members of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference The Rocky Moun ...

, then an NAIA program; he averaged 13.8 points and 5.3 rebounds in his junior season of 1969–70.

Coaching career

Flanagan began his coaching career in 1971 as boys' varsity basketball coach at Coronado High School in

Gallina, New Mexico Gallina is a census-designated place in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States. Its population was 286 as of the 2010 census. Gallina has a post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, ...

; he also coached cross country and baseball there. In 1973, Flanagan returned to Connecticut to coach at Pawcatuck Middle School in

Pawcatuck, Connecticut Pawcatuck is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Stonington which is located in New London County, Connecticut. The population was 5,624 at the 2010 census. It is located across the Pawcatuck River from Downtown Westerly, ...

. At Pawcatabuck, Flanagan had a 15–0 season. Flanagan returned to the Southwest in 1975 as boys' varsity basketball coach at

Window Rock High School Window Rock High School is a public high school in Fort Defiance, a census-designated place in unincorporated Apache County, Arizona. WRHS is the only high school in the Window Rock Unified School District. WRUSD, and therefore the high school, ...

Fort Defiance, Arizona Fort Defiance ( nv, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Apache County, Arizona, United States. It is also located within the Navajo Nation. The population was 3,624 at the 2010 census. History The land on which Fort Defiance was eventu ...

. Window Rock went 75–25 and made the state tournament every year under Flanagan, including as state runner-up in 1978. From 1979 to 1995, Flanagan was the girls' basketball head coach at Eldorado High School in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

, where he had a record of 401–13 and 11

New Mexico Activities Association The New Mexico Activities Association (NMAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates interscholastic programs for junior and senior high schools in New Mexico. It hosts the statewide sports championship games each year. History NMAA was or ...

Class 4A championships for the years 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, and 1995. Flanagan was inducted into the Albuquerque Sports Hall of Fame in 1997. As women's basketball coach at the

, Flanagan coached 508 collegiate games, which as of March 7, 2014, is a feat no coach has done in New Mexico basketball history. As of March 2014, he holds the title of most wins by any coach, men's or women's, at the school with 340 victories. He passed former UNM Men's Basketball coach

Dave Bliss David Gregory Bliss (born September 20, 1943) is an American basketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at University of Oklahoma, Southern Methodist University, the University of New Mexico, Baylor University, and Southwester ...

's 246 wins on December 9, 2006. From 1998 to 2010, Flanagan's teams made the NCAA tournament or

Women's National Invitation Tournament The Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) is a women's national college basketball tournament with a preseason and postseason version played every year. It is operated in a similar fashion to the men's college National Invitation Tournam ...

(WNIT) every year. Flanagan's New Mexico teams made seven NCAA Tournaments and six WNITs. On April 4, 2011, Flanagan announced his resignation, following a 13–18 season and with a year remaining on his contract. He finished his coaching career with the Lobos with a record of 340 wins to 168 losses. Prior to his resignation, five freshmen players left the team. Flanagan responded: "It wasn't fair to the program for me to stay and try to recruit multiple players with one year left on my contract." With that resignation, Flanagan retired from coaching. Assistant coach

Yvonne Sanchez Yvonne Marie Sanchez (born December 5, 1967) is an American basketball coach who is currently an assistant women's basketball coach at Arizona State. Career From 2011 to 2016, Sanchez was head coach at New Mexico. After leaving New Mexico, Sanc ...

, who had been an assistant coach under Flanagan since 2000, succeeded Flanagan as head coach on April 22, 2011.

Head coaching record

Sources: *WAC standings: *MW standings: *Postseason results:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flanagan, Don 1943 births Living people American women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Connecticut Basketball coaches from Massachusetts Basketball players from Connecticut Basketball players from Massachusetts Fort Lewis Skyhawks men's basketball players High school basketball coaches in the United States New Mexico Lobos women's basketball coaches People from New Hartford, Connecticut Sportspeople from Cambridge, Massachusetts American men's basketball players Guards (basketball)