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| The image Anna Maria College athletics posted with today’s announcement about Dan Mulrooney becoming head coach. |
The Anna Maria College football program has a new leader, and his name is certainly familiar to area NVL teams.
Dan Mulrooney, a former standout player on both sides of the ball for Holy Cross High School in Waterbury, takes over the reins of the AMCATS. Mulrooney was announced as head coach of Anna Maria by the school on Wednesday morning in a press release on the athletics website.
Mulrooney was defensive coordinator for Worcester Polytechnic Institute for the past three seasons. This will be his first head coaching job.
“I am an enthusiastic, dedicated, hardworking coach who strives to develop student-athletes to reach their maximum potential,” Mulrooney said in the release. “The team will only be as good as the culture that is created since day one.”
Athletic director Serge DeBari is impressed by Mulrooney, who holds a communications degree from Boston College and a Masters in Liberal Arts from Stony Brook. Mulrooney played at both schools.
“He is a hardworking football coach with a great attitude looking for an opportunity to develop high character student-athletes on [and] off the field,” DeBari. “I believe Mulrooney has a great deal of experience and knowledge to bring to the football program; I look forward to working with him in developing and growing the Anna Maria College football team.”
Mulrooney and his staff will have some work to do with the AMCATS. Anna Maria was just 1-9 this past season, and a whole bunch of those losses were by double digits.
Mulrooney is no stranger to success, at both the high school and collegiate levels.
In high school, Mulrooney helped Holy Cross win two state championships while earning all-state honors twice. He got a full ride to Boston College, and the Eagles made four bowl games and two ACC Championship game appearances during that time. Mulrooney had eligibility remaining when he went to Stony Brook, and all the Seawolves did was win a pair of Big South titles and reach the NCAA Playoffs.
At WPI, Mulrooney and the Engineers made an ECAC bowl game for the third time in its 126-year history.
Mulrooney hopes to continue having success in football, only this time it will be in the lead role of a college program.
