Scott McDonald became St. John Fisher University’s first-ever women’s ice hockey coach in June 2024.
A veteran in the local and collegiate hockey landscapes, McDonald arrived at Fisher after spending three years as the player development coach for the Bishop Kearney Selects girls’ hockey program.
Before that, he led the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) women’s hockey program for 12 seasons (2006-2018), compiling a 205-154-29 overall record, including a 151-38-15 (.777) mark in Division III. He put the Tigers on the map as one of the top Division III teams and led the program’s eventual transition to Division I.
Under McDonald, RIT reached the NCAA Tournament four times (three in DIII) and won four conference titles, including two ECAC West championships and two College Hockey America championships. The two-time ECAC West Coach of the Year nominee produced a slew of All-America and All-Conference selections.
In 2010-11, RIT won its first ECAC West Championship and reached the NCAA Division III National Championship game. The Tigers finished 26-2-2 and boasted three All-Americans, including three-time selection Sarah Dagg, the Laura Hurd National Player of the Year.
In their final season as a Division III program, 2011-12, the Tigers took down Norwich University 4-1 to claim the first national championship in program history. They began and ended that season with 14-game winning streaks en route to an NCAA record 28 victories (28-1-1). RIT held the top spot in the national poll for 18 weeks during the season.
RIT moved up to Division I before the 2012-13 season and quickly began competing at a high level. After a 16-16-5 finish to their first DI season, the Tigers went 20-15-3 and won the College Hockey America (CHA) Tournament in 2013-14. They repeated as CHA champions the following season to clinch their first NCAA Tournament berth as a DI program.
A 2000 graduate of Niagara University, McDonald played defense for the Purple Eagles from 1996-2000. He was part of the school’s inaugural freshman and first graduating classes as a Division I program. During his senior year, he helped Niagara, in only its fourth season, to an NCAA Tournament at-large bid, beating the University of New Hampshire in the northeast regional. He also helped Niagara to an undefeated season in the College Hockey America conference (15-0-2, 30-8-4 overall), as well as the CHA regular season and tournament titles.
McDonald later served as an assistant at Utica College for one season before moving to RIT to serve as the assistant coach for the RIT men’s hockey program from 2003-06. The men’s program moved up to Division I in 2005.
McDonald, a native of Oakville, Ontario, is the only person in NCAA history to play at the Division I and III level and coach at both divisions on both the men’s and women’s sides.
Prior to college, he played in Toronto for the St. Michael’s Buzzers and the North York Rangers. Professionally, McDonald played in Hagfors, Sweden, for the IK Viking Ishockeyklubb. Prior to that, McDonald played with the San Angelo (Texas) Outlaws of the Western Professional Hockey League.
Updated 10/28/2025
