Tim Cohane

Tim Cohane
Biographical details
Born (1942-05-22) May 22, 1942 (age 82)
Playing career
1960sNavy
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1970–1974Iona Prep
1974–1979Manhattanville
1979–1983Dartmouth
1988–1990Merchant Marine
1993–1999Buffalo
2010–presentRoger Williams (assistant)
Head coaching record
Overall223–236
Tournaments1–5 (NCAA Division III)

Tim Cohane (born May 22, 1942) is an American college basketball coach, Wall Street entrepreneur and sports lawyer.

Early life

Cohane played basketball at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York where he won a Catholic High School Athletic Association championship in 1960. After high school, Cohane enrolled at College of the Holy Cross on a full basketball scholarship. After his Freshman season, he transferred to the U.S. Naval Academy and played for that school's basketball team. After graduating, Cohane volunteered for duty in Vietnam on the rivers of the Mekong Delta.[1] For his service, he was awarded two Bronze Stars, a Purple Heart and a dozen other commendations.[citation needed] After a year in Vietnam, Cohane was stationed in Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island where he coached a basketball team on-base.[1]

Coaching career

After leaving the service, Cohane spent four years at Iona Preparatory School in New Rochelle, New York where he taught history and coached the boys' basketball team. Cohane was then hired by Manhattanville College which had recently begun accepting male students; he became the first coach of the school's men's basketball team.[1] He led Manhattanville to consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament in his final two seasons with the program.[2]

Cohane was hired away from Manhattanville by Dartmouth College where he admitted he "alienated half the administration" by complaining about recruiting problems.[1] He resigned from the Dartmouth job shortly after the end of the 1982–83 season, his fourth with the school.[2]

After leaving Dartmouth, Cohane was introduced to the trading floor of New York Stock Exchange by a friend. Cohane was hired by Salomon Brothers but later met and befriended Larry Rafferty and began working for Rafferty Securities. While working on Wall Street, he was hired to fill the coaching vacancy at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.[1] He spent two seasons as the unpaid head coach of the Mariners.

Between his first three college head coaching jobs and his stint at the University at Buffalo, Cohane compiled an overall record of 223–236.[3] Cohane resigned as head coach at Buffalo five games into the 1999–2000 season, as a result of an NCAA investigation in which he was alleged to have violated NCAA rules. He was replaced by Reggie Witherspoon as head coach of the Bulls. In 2004, Cohane filed a long-running lawsuit against the NCAA, the University at Buffalo, and the Mid-American Conference, accusing them of conspiring to remove him as coach. Among other things, Cohane alleged that the NCAA knew UB officials coerced players into implicating him; he claimed that UB officials threatened to strip Bulls players of their eligibility and block seniors from graduating unless they corroborated claims of violations by Cohane.[4][5][6][7][8] On May 15, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in favor of the NCAA in the case. Cohane is also a 2005 graduate of the Roger Williams University School of Law, and has developed a law practice specializing in assuring due-process and related protections to coaches and student-athletes alike.[9]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Manhattanville Valiants () (1974–1979)
1974–75 Manhattanville 9–14
1975–76 Manhattanville 9–14
1976–77 Manhattanville 17–9
1977–78 Manhattanville 17–11 NCAA NCAA Division III Regional Fourth Place
1978–79 Manhattanville 17–11 NCAA NCAA Division III Regional Fourth Place
Manhattanville: 69–59 (.539)
Dartmouth Big Green (Ivy League) (1979–1983)
1979–80 Dartmouth 6–20 3–11 T–7th
1980–81 Dartmouth 10–16 3–11 8th
1981–82 Dartmouth 7–19 1–13 8th
1982–83 Dartmouth 7–19 3–11 8th
Dartmouth: 30–74 (.288) 10–46 (.179)
Merchant Marine Mariners () (1988–1990)
1988–89 Merchant Marine 24–3 NCAA Division III Regional third place
1989–90 Merchant Marine 20–7
Merchant Marine: 44–10 (.815)
Buffalo Bulls (East Coast Conference) (1993–1994)
1993–94 Buffalo 10–18 3–2 3rd
Buffalo: 10–18 (.357)
Buffalo Bulls (Mid–Continent Conference) (1994–1998)
1994–95 Buffalo 18–10 12–6 3rd
1995–96 Buffalo 13–14 10–8 T–3rd
1996–97 Buffalo 17–11 11–5 T–2nd
1997–98 Buffalo 15–13 9–7 5th
Buffalo Bulls (Mid–American Conference) (1998–1999)
1998–99 Buffalo 5–24 1–17 7th (East)
1999–00 Buffalo 2–3 0–0
Buffalo: 80–93 (.462) 46–45 (.505)
Total: 223–236 (.442)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Vecsey, George (February 10, 1983). "SPORTS OF THE TIMES; The Coach Without A Salary". New York Times. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Tim Cohane has resigned as Dartmouth's basketball coach, it..." UPI. March 6, 1983. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Tim Cohane Coaching Record". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 2015-05-31.
  4. ^ "Standing Up to the N.C.A.A." The New York Times. March 23, 2012. Retrieved 2015-05-31.
  5. ^ "Judge rejects suit by former UB coach". The Buffalo News. March 22, 2013. Retrieved 2015-05-31.
  6. ^ "Many taking the fight to the NCAA these days". USA Today. April 25, 2013. Retrieved 2015-05-31.
  7. ^ "Potential landmark cases make these perilous times for the NCAA". CBS Sports. January 16, 2013. Retrieved 2015-05-31.
  8. ^ "Delay of game in former coach's NCAA lawsuit". lexology.com. June 28, 2012. Retrieved 2015-05-31.
  9. ^ genesisstrategicadvisors.com