AP News, April 10th, 2007
Mark Schmidt was hired as St. Bonaventure's coach Tuesday, leaving the top basketball job at Robert Morris for the challenge of invigorating a program coming off four straight 19-loss seasons.
He replaces Anthony Solomon, who was fired last month after going 24-88 in four seasons. Schmidt spent the past six seasons at Robert Morris, where he went 82-90 with a 17-11 finish last year.
St. Bonaventure has not recovered from a player eligibility scandal in March 2003 that led to the team boycotting its final two games of the season, the firing of coach Jan van Breda Kolff and to NCAA sanctions the following year.
"He is a proven successful head coach who impressed us with his attitude, desire and passion," first-year athletic director Steve Watson said. "Mark also has a firm understanding of what it takes to compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference."
Before taking over at Robert Morris, the 44-year-old Schmidt worked as an assistant at Bonnies' A-10 rival Xavier. He also worked as an assistant at Penn State and Loyola of Maryland.
Schmidt entered the Bonnies' picture after Albany's Will Brown turned down the school's offer last month.
Schmidt's first priority will be filling a roster depleted after junior guards Jermaine Calvin and James Williams quit the team this season. Another junior guard, Zarryon Fereti, was dismissed for what Solomon said was his failure to follow team philosophies.
The Bonnies were 4-12 in the league this year. Their best record under Solomon was last season's 8-19 finish. The team went 10-54 in conference play during his four years and failed to qualify for the A-10 tournament after the conference changed its format last year by eliminating the bottom two teams.
