Mike Donnelly is the winningest head coach in the history of Muhlenberg College football with a record of 140-74 (.654) in 20 years. Since taking over a program that struggled in the years prior to his arrival, Donnelly has turned the Mules into a perennial championship and postseason contender and national top-10 team.
The Mules are 138-60 (.697) in their last 198 games and have earned 13 postseason invitations since 2000. They tied for the Centennial Conference championship four straight years (2001-04) and made their first national playoff appearance in 2002.
In the 34-year history of the CC, only one coach has won more championships than Donnelly's seven. He is third all-time with 104 wins in CC games and entered the 2016 season tied for 28th among active Division III coaches in career wins.
In his 20 seasons, Donnelly has coached 19 All-Americans, nine Centennial Conference players of the year, two CC rookies of the year and seven Academic All-Americans. The program's all-time leaders in almost every statistical category have played during his tenure.
Donnelly also serves as defensive coordinator for one of the stingiest units in Division III. The Mules have allowed fewer than 300 yards and 20 points per game in the regular season every year since 2001.
Donnelly was named regional coach of the year by the American Football Coaches Association and D3football.com in 2007 after leading Muhlenberg to its first undefeated regular season in the 106-year program history. The Mules won the Centennial Conference championship, finished the regular season with a 10-0 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs. They were ranked eighth in the country in the final poll of the season.
The 2008 squad repeated as CC champion and rose to No. 2 in one national poll — the highest national ranking ever for any Muhlenberg team in any sport. Donnelly was voted CC coach of the year.
In 1999, Muhlenberg finished 6-4 for its first winning record since 1989 and broke or tied 57 school, CC and NCAA records. The 2000 team tied a school record by winning nine games and earned the program’s first postseason bid since 1946. That squad also had three All-Americans for the first time ever. In 2001, Muhlenberg was ranked 16th in Division III in a preseason poll, and the 2002 squad finished ranked 17th after winning 10 games.
The 2003 Mules won their final seven regular-season games and became the first team to win the CC title after losing the conference opener. They duplicated that feat in 2004 and led Division III in total defense.
Donnelly brought to Muhlenberg impressive credentials as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Columbia, where he was instrumental in bringing a struggling program to national prominence in his four seasons there. The Lions ranked in the top 20 nationally in Division I in seven defensive categories in 1996 and compiled an 8-2 record, their best in 51 years. One of his charges, defensive end Marcellus Wiley, was a second-round draft pick of the Buffalo Bills.
Originally from Albany, N.Y., Donnelly is a 1975 graduate of Ithaca College, where he was an all-conference linebacker. He has 40 years of coaching experience at the high school, Division I, II and III levels, including stints at Albany, East Stroudsburg, Rensselaer, Ithaca, Lafayette and Buffalo. He coached the linebackers at Ithaca, helping his alma mater to the 1980 NCAA Division III championship game while also leading the Bombers to four consecutive outdoor conference track titles.
