Saint Bonaventure’s Mark Schmidt announces retirement after 19 seasons
By JAMES MADDEN & ADAM ZAGORIA
Saint Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt officially announced his retirement on Saturday after coaching his team in a 68-63 loss to Davidson.
Schmidt will remain the head coach for next week’s Atlantic 10 Tournament, but the program, guided by former ESPN NBA Insider and current GM Adrian “Woj” Wojnarowski, will now head in another direction following the end of the season.
The Bonnies are 15-16 this season, 4-14 in the A-10.
“I’m a lucky guy. To be able to be the head coach at St. Bonaventure for 19 years is an honor,” Schmidt said in a statement. “When I first got the job, I remember someone telling me I was going to be here for three or four years and then I was going to be selling insurance. I give Steve Watson and Sister Margaret Carney all the credit in the world that they took a chance on me 19 years ago. A guy who was 82-90 at Robert Morris and they allowed me to coach, they allowed us to build a program, and I think it was a pretty good one.”
Schmidt retires as the winningest coach in program history, with 339 career victories, three NCAA appearances, three NIT appearances, two regular-season A-10 championships and two A-10 tournament championships.
“Mark is one of the most consequential figures in the history of St. Bonaventure and leaves a lasting impact on our program and our university,” said AD Bob Beretta. “Mark will forever be viewed as one of the most prominent individuals in the history of St. Bonaventure’s storied basketball heritage. The legacy Mark has authored is simply astounding.
“I’d like to congratulate Mark on a spectacular coaching career. We are immensely grateful for all he has done to return the St. Bonaventure basketball program to national distinction.Mark Schmidt will long be remembered as one of the legendary figures in St. Bonaventure basketball lore. And the impact Mark and his wife, Anita, have made in the local community has been equally transformative. They will be missed but never forgotten.”
Going forward, Saint Bonaventure plans to put more money into NIL resources for players and less into the new coaching staff. Schmidt made about $1.5 million, per Sports Illustrated, while the school was near the bottom of the A-10 in NIL spending. Per SI, the top A-10 teams plan to spend $3-4 million on NIL this cycle.
Matt Langel (Colgate), Joe Gallo (Merrimack), Mike MacDonald (Daemen), David Vanterpool (Washington Wizards assistant), Pat Sellers (Central Connecticut) and Brian Adams (Alabama assistant) are among the leading candidates to replace Schmidt, sources confirmed to ZAGSBLOG.
The school hired Wojnarowski as its GM in September 2024, and Schmidt and Woj signed off on the players together, with Woj in charge of having to pay them.
Not everyone was happy with the exit, with former player Tyler Relph posting that Schmidt “deserved better.”
“Coach Schmidt you deserved better But you changed so many lives and for that WE as True Bonnies are so Thankful Wish I could be there to send you off but some people just don’t know what the words “Respect” are anymore. I’m sorry but walk that damn sideline this last time !”
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