Prior to coming to University City, Mike McLaughlin coached as Holy Family, his alma mater, and let the Tigers to a 167-3 conference record. Last week, he was announced as part of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference's second-ever Hall of Fame class.
Credit: Nick BuchtaGone, but not forgotten.
Last week, the Central Athletic Collegiate Conference announced that Penn women’s basketball coach Mike McLaughlin will be inducted into the conference hall of fame. He will be in the Hall's second-ever class.
Though McLaughlin is now entering his eighth season in University City, he served as head coach of Holy Family women’s basketball from 1995-2009. Prior to that, McLaughlin served briefly as an assistant coach — and also played for the Tigers as an undergraduate from 1986-89.
“I was able to surround myself with some really great athletes, some great coaches, some really good mentors — coaches that really cared about people,” McLaughlin said. “I was really able to grow, it was a really great group.”
In his 14 years coaching the Tigers, McLaughlin was named CACC Coach of the Year 13 times and had players win CACC Player of the Year five times — including current Penn assistant Kelly Killion on two occasions.
Two other assistants for McLaughlin — Bernadette Laukaitis and Christine McCollum — also played for him at Holy Family.
“It’s a family,” McLaughlin said. “We’re in a relationship business, and I think having good relationships with people allows me to coach those three, build a great relationship and the trust factor. ... I think we built something special with the people there and I’d like to think that we’re translating good people to this program.”
McLaughlin became the fastest coach in NCAA history to win 400 games in 2009, requiring only 459 contests to reach the milestone. In 170 conference games during his tenure, McLaughlin won 167 — never losing more than a single CACC contest in a season.
While McLaughlin was at Holy Family, the Tigers made the transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division II.
In seven of the eight years Holy Family was an NAIA school under McLaughlin, the squad qualified for the postseason tournament. Following the move to D-II, the Tigers found themselves in the postseason all six seasons, including a regional final appearance in 2008.
Following the 2008-09 season, McLaughlin made the crosstown move to University City and has since put together the most successful five-year stretch in program history — including two Ivy League titles, a WNIT appearance, an Ivy League Coach of the Year award, two Ivy League Players of the Year, three Ivy League Rookies of the Year and the program’s first-ever Big 5 title.
The Quakers will begin their defense of the 2015-16 Ivy League title on Nov. 13 when they play Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. They will open Ivy play on Jan. 7 at Princeton.
Three other inductees will enter the CACC Hall of Fame throughout the school year, with individual schools holding their own ceremonies.
“I think it’s really exciting to go back up there and share this with my former players that I’ve coached — it’s exciting, it really is,” McLaughlin said. “When I got the call that I was going to be recognized, it brought back some great memories of that university, my coaching career and the relationships that I’ve built. I think that it’s going to be good to get everyone back together again.”
The date for McLaughlin’s induction has not yet been formally announced but has been tentatively slated for the Tigers’ matchup against West Chester on Dec. 18.
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