St. John Fisher University Athletics

Over the last 27 years, Marianne O'Connor has been affiliated with the Fisher women's basketball program, the winningest all-time program in NCAA Division III, both as a player and as a coach.

A four-year starting point guard for the women’s basketball program from 1981 until 1985, Ermi led Fisher, which was an NCAA Division II program at that time, to four appearances in the New York State Tournament. She finished her career ranked sixth at the College in career assists with 278 and ranked fourth in career free-throw shooting percentage, making 76.4% of her shots from the charity stripe.

Since she was a fundamentally-sound player, head coach Phil Kahler knew she would be a great coach, and offered her an assistant coaching position after graduation. Her presence on the sidelines has been one of the main reasons Fisher has been so successful.

Ermi has helped Fisher compile a 501-110 record and been largely responsible for helping recruit some of the top players in NCAA Division III over the past 23 years.

“There’s no doubt that our program is where it is today because of Marianne,” Kahler says. “She was a very talented player and has been an even better coach.”

Marianne graduated from Fisher with a degree in Management. She lives in Rush with her husband Mark, and their two children, Meghan and Shaun.