Dave Paulsen

Dave Paulsen
Current position
Title	Head coach
Team	Holy Cross
Conference	Patriot League
Record	15–28 (.349)
Biographical details
Born	September 14, 1964 (age 60)
Playing career
1983–1987	Williams
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1988–1989	Williams (assistant)
1989–1990	Michigan (assistant)
1990–1994	Cleveland State (assistant)
1994–1997	St. Lawrence
1997–2000	Le Moyne
2000–2008	Williams
2008–2015	Bucknell
2015–2021	George Mason
2022–2023	Fordham (assistant)
2023–present	Holy Cross
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
2021–2022	Fordham (Special Adv.)
Head coaching record
Overall	506–333 (.603)
Tournaments	0–2 (NCAA D1); 11–5 (NCAA D3); 1–2 (NIT); 0–1 (CBI)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
	NCAA Division III tournament (2003); 2 NCAA Division III Final Four (2003, 2004); UCAA regular season (1997); NNE10 regular season (1998); ECAC New England (2001); 2 NESCAC regular season (2003, 2004); 3 NESCAC tournament (2003, 2004, 2007); 4 Patriot League regular season (2011–2013, 2015); 2 Patriot League tournament (2011, 2013)
Awards
	2× NABC D-III National Coach of the Year (2003, 2004); 2× NABC D-III New England Coach of the Year (1996, 2003); 2× UCAA Coach of the Year (1996, 1997); 3× NESCAC Coach of the Year (2003, 2004, 2007); 2× Patriot League Coach of the Year (2011, 2012)

Last updated December 08, 2024

Dave Paulsen (born September 14, 1964) is an American college basketball coach who is currently the head coach at Holy Cross. Previously, he was the head men's basketball coach at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Before arriving at George Mason, he was previously the head coach at Bucknell University for seven seasons. Prior to Bucknell, he spent eight years as the head coach at his alma mater, Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and also coached at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, and Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York.

Coaching career

At Williams College, Paulsen won the NCAA Division III title in 2003,^[1] and finished as national runner up in 2004.^[2] Paulsen was twice named Division III Coach of the Year during his time at Williams.^[3]

On May 20, 2008, Paulsen was hired as head coach at Bucknell.^[4] Paulsen led the Bison to a disappointing 7–23 record in his first year at Bucknell. This constituted the school's worst winning percentage (.233) since the 1971–72 season when the Bison posted a mark of 5–18 (.217).^[5] In his second year, the Bison improved to 12–17, including a 9–5 record in Patriot League play. In his third year, Paulsen was named Patriot League Coach of the Year en route to leading his team to a 25–8 record heading into the NCAA tournament, including a 13–1 record in the Patriot League, culminating in both the regular season and Patriot League tournament championships.

During his time at Bucknell, Paulsen recruited and coached future NBA player Mike Muscala.

On March 30, 2015, Paulsen was hired as head coach of George Mason.^[6] His team struggled in his first year, finishing the season with an overall record of 11–21, 5–13 in conference and in thirteenth place in the Atlantic 10. His second year at George Mason saw the team significantly improve, finishing 20–14 overall and 9–9 in A–10 play, and receiving an invitation to the 2017 CBI, where they would lose in the first round to Loyola (MD).

Paulsen returned to the Patriot League when he was appointed head coach at the College of the Holy Cross on March 28, 2023.^[7]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
St. Lawrence Saints (Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association)(1994–1997)
1994–95	St. Lawrence	10–15
1995–96	St. Lawrence	18–9			NCAA Division III Second Round
1996–97	St. Lawrence	22–4		1st	NCAA Division III First Round
St. Lawrence:		50–28 (.641)
Le Moyne Dolphins (Northeast-10 Conference)(1997–2000)
1997–98	Le Moyne	20–8	14–6	T–1st
1998–99	Le Moyne	13–14	8–10	T–6th
1999–00	Le Moyne	9–17	2–16	10th
Le Moyne:		42–39 (.519)	24–32 (.429)
Williams Ephs (New England Small College Athletic Conference)(2000–2008)
2000–01	Williams	21–7	6–3	T–1st
2001–02	Williams	22–6	7–2	2nd	NCAA Division III Second Round
2002–03	Williams	31–1	8–1	T–1st	NCAA Division III champion
2003–04	Williams	30–2	9–0	1st	NCAA Division III Runner-up
2004–05	Williams	16–9	4–5	T–5th
2005–06	Williams	17–8	5–4	T–5th
2006–07	Williams	16–12	6–3	T–3rd	NCAA Division III First Round
2007–08	Williams	17–8	4–5	T–6th
Williams:		170–53 (.762)	49–23 (.681)
Bucknell Bison (Patriot League)(2008–2015)
2008–09	Bucknell	7–23	4–10	T–7th
2009–10	Bucknell	14–17	9–5	2nd
2010–11	Bucknell	25–9	13–1	1st	NCAA Division I First Round
2011–12	Bucknell	25–10	12–2	1st	NIT Second Round
2012–13	Bucknell	28–6	12–2	1st	NCAA Division I First Round
2013–14	Bucknell	16–14	11–7	4th
2014–15	Bucknell	19–15	13–5	1st	NIT First Round
Bucknell:		134–94 (.588)	60–88 (.405)
George Mason Patriots (Atlantic 10 Conference)(2015–2021)
2015–16	George Mason	11–21	5–13	T–12th
2016–17	George Mason	20–14	9–9	T–7th	CBI First Round
2017–18	George Mason	16–17	9–9	T–5th
2018–19	George Mason	18–15	11–7	5th
2019–20	George Mason	17–15	5–13	12th
2020–21	George Mason	13–9	8–6	T–4th
George Mason:		95–91 (.511)	46–54 (.460)
Holy Cross Crusaders (Patriot League)(2023–present)
2023–24	Holy Cross	10–23	6–12	T–8th
2024–25	Holy Cross	5–5	0-0
Holy Cross:		15–28 (.349)	6–12 (.333)
Total:		506–333 (.603)
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

Related Research Articles

The Patriot League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United States. Except for the Ivy League, it is the most selective group of higher education institutions in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and has a very high student-athlete graduation rate for both the NCAA graduation success rate and the federal graduation rate.

The Bucknell Bison are the athletic teams that represent Bucknell University. The program is a member of the Patriot League for most NCAA Division I sports and Division I FCS in football.

The Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball team represents the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts in NCAA Division I competition. The team competes in the Patriot League and plays their home games in the Hart Center. The program boasts such notable alumni as Boston Celtics legends Bob Cousy and Tom Heinsohn, and longtime Providence College basketball coach Joe Mullaney.

The 2011–12 Bucknell Bison men's basketball team represented Bucknell University during the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bison, led by fourth year head coach Dave Paulsen, played their home games at Sojka Pavilion and are members of the Patriot League. They finished the season 25–10, 12–2 in Patriot League play to be crowned regular season champions. They lost in the championship game of the Patriot League Basketball tournament to Lehigh. As regular season champions, they received an automatic bid into the 2012 National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Arizona in the first round before falling in the second round to Nevada.

The 2012–13 Bucknell Bison men's basketball team represented Bucknell University during the 2012–13 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bison, led by fifth year head coach Dave Paulsen, played their home games at Sojka Pavilion and were members of the Patriot League. They finished the season 28–6, 12–2 in Patriot League play to be crowned regular season champions. They were also champions of the Patriot League tournament to earn an automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA tournament. However, they lost in the second round to Butler.

David Hixon is a retired American college basketball head coach who spent 42 years coaching Amherst College. As head coach, he transformed the Amherst men's basketball program into one of the best in the nation.

The 2013–14 Bucknell Bison men's basketball team represented Bucknell University during the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bison, led by sixth year head coach Dave Paulsen, played their home games at Sojka Pavilion and were members of the Patriot League. They finished the season 16–14, 11–7 in Patriot League play to finish in fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League tournament to Army.

The 2014–15 Bucknell Bison men's basketball team represented Bucknell University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bison, led by seventh year head coach Dave Paulsen, played their home games at Sojka Pavilion and were members of the Patriot League. They finished the season 19–15, 13–5 in Patriot League play to win the Patriot League regular season championship. They advanced to the semifinals of the Patriot League tournament where they lost to Lafayette. As a regular season league champion who failed to win their league tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Temple.

Nathan Davis is an American college basketball coach. He is currently the head coach of the New Hampshire Wildcats men's basketball team. He previously served as the men's basketball coach at Bucknell from 2015 to 2023 and Randolph–Macon from 2009 to 2015.

The 2015–16 Bucknell Bison men's basketball team represented Bucknell University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bison, led by first year head coach Nathan Davis, played their home games at Sojka Pavilion, and were members of the Patriot League. They finished the season 17–14, 14–4 in Patriot League play to win the regular season league championship. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League tournament to Holy Cross. As a regular season champion who failed to win their league tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Monmouth.

The 2016–17 Bucknell Bison men's basketball team represented Bucknell University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bison, led by second-year head coach Nathan Davis, played their home games at Sojka Pavilion in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania as members of the Patriot League. They finished the regular season 23–8, 15–3 in Patriot League play to win the regular season championship, their third straight title and sixth in seven years. As the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League tournament, they defeated Army, Navy, and Lehigh to win the tournament championship. As a result, the Bison received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 13 seed in the West region. There they lost in the first round to West Virginia.

The 2018–19 Bucknell Bison men's basketball team represented Bucknell University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bison, led by fourth-year head coach Nathan Davis, played their home games at Sojka Pavilion in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania as members of the Patriot League. They finished the season 21–12, 13–5 in Patriot League play, to earn a share of the Patriot League regular season championship. As the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League tournament, they defeated Holy Cross and Lehigh before losing to Colgate in the championship game. They were not selected for postseason play.

Dane Fischer is an American basketball coach and the former head coach of the William & Mary Tribe men's basketball team.

The 2019–20 Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball team represented the College of the Holy Cross during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crusaders, led by first-year head coach Brett Nelson, played their home games at the Hart Center in Worcester, Massachusetts as members of the Patriot League. They finished the season 3–29, 2–16 in Patriot League play to finish in last place. They lost in the first round of the Patriot League tournament to Bucknell.

The 2019–20 Bucknell Bison men's basketball team represented Bucknell University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bison, led by fifth-year head coach Nathan Davis, played their home games at Sojka Pavilion in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania as members of the Patriot League. They finished the season 14–20, 8–10 in Patriot League play to finish in a tie for sixth place. They defeated Holy Cross and American to advance to the semifinals of the Patriot League tournament where they lost to Boston University.

The 2020–21 Bucknell Bison men's basketball team represented Bucknell University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bison, led by sixth-year head coach Nathan Davis, play their home games at Sojka Pavilion in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania as members of the Patriot League. With the creation of mini-divisions to cut down on travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they play in the Central Division.

The 2010–11 Bucknell Bison men's basketball team represented Bucknell University during the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bison, led by third year head coach Dave Paulsen, played their home games at Sojka Pavilion as members of the Patriot League. They finished the season 25–9, 13–1 in Patriot League play to be crowned regular season champions. They won the Patriot League Basketball tournament to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost to eventual National champion Connecticut in the Round of 64.

The 2022–23 American Eagles men's basketball team represented American University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by 10th-year head coach Mike Brennan, played their home games at Bender Arena in Washington, D.C. as members of the Patriot League. They finished the season 17–15, 7–11 in Patriot League play to finish in a four-way tie for sixth place. As the No. 7 seed in the Patriot League tournament, they defeated Bucknell and Navy before losing to Lafayette in the semifinals.

The 2022–23 Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball team represented the College of the Holy Cross in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crusaders, led by fourth-year head coach Brett Nelson, played their home games at the Hart Center in Worcester, Massachusetts as members of the Patriot League. they finished the season 10–22, 7–11 in Patriot League play to finish in a four-way tie for sixth place. As the No. 9 seed in the Patriot League tournament, they lost to Loyola (MD) in the first round.

The 2023–24 Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball team represented the College of the Holy Cross during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crusaders, led by first-year head coach Dave Paulsen, played their home games at the Hart Center located in Worcester, Massachusetts as members of the Patriot League.

References

↑ "Williams gives Northeast its first title - D3hoops". www.d3hoops.com. 22 March 2003. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
↑ "Kalsow beats buzzer - D3hoops". www.d3hoops.com. 20 March 2004. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
↑ "Dave Paulsen Bio". gomason.com. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
↑ "Bucknell Names Dave Paulsen as Head Men's Basketball Coach - Patriot League Official Athletic Site". www.patriotleague.org. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
↑ "Bison Basketball History" (PDF). bucknell.edu. March 16, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-12. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
↑ Goff, Steven (2015-03-30). "George Mason hires Bucknell's Dave Paulsen to replace Paul Hewitt". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286 . Retrieved 2016-03-10.
↑ "Holy Cross Names Dave Paulsen Head Men’s Basketball Coach," College of the Holy Cross Athletics, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.

External links

George Mason profile

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Williams gives Northeast its first title - D3hoops". www.d3hoops.com. 22 March 2003. Retrieved 2016-03-10.

[2] "Kalsow beats buzzer - D3hoops". www.d3hoops.com. 20 March 2004. Retrieved 2016-03-10.

[3] "Dave Paulsen Bio". gomason.com. Retrieved 2016-03-10.

[4] "Bucknell Names Dave Paulsen as Head Men's Basketball Coach - Patriot League Official Athletic Site". www.patriotleague.org. Retrieved 2016-03-10.

[5] "Bison Basketball History" (PDF). bucknell.edu. March 16, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-12. Retrieved 2009-03-16.

[6] Goff, Steven (2015-03-30). "George Mason hires Bucknell's Dave Paulsen to replace Paul Hewitt". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286 . Retrieved 2016-03-10.

[7] "Holy Cross Names Dave Paulsen Head Men’s Basketball Coach," College of the Holy Cross Athletics, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]