With both coaches in place, Robert Morris men's and women's hockey can focus on rebuilding rosters
For the recently reinstated Robert Morris University ice hockey programs, maybe these were the last of the first steps toward a return to the ice.
With two head coaches now entrenched, the big strides toward rebuilding can truly begin.
Both programs were cut by the university in May 2021. But through a mix of public pressure, fundraising and legal threats, the teams were reinstated in December.
On Thursday, the Colonials athletic department revealed that Logan Bittle will be the head coach of the women’s team when it returns to action for the 2023-24 season. That announcement came on the heels of Tuesday’s news that men’s coach Derek Schooley finalized a five-year contract.
Schooley is the only coach the men’s team has ever had. But because the programs were cut in May, he had to formally reapply for his old job before being rehired in September as both the men’s coach and director of hockey operations of two programs that hadn’t even been officially reinstated at the time.
His new contract now paves the way toward a long-term rebuild of the team.
Related:
• Robert Morris signs men's hockey coach Derek Schooley to 5-year contract
“This shows a commitment that we have toward hockey at Robert Morris,” Schooley said. “I very (much) appreciate that they still have confidence in me (to build a new team). I did it once before, and we’ve had some good teams here in the past. It may take some time. But the landscape is different now than what it was in 2003-04. As far as the transfer portal, we can get a lot more competitive a lot quicker.”
Former RMU women’s coach Paul Colontino took a job coaching at Bishop Kearney Selects Academy in Rochester when the teams were cut. Bittle was part of Schooley’s inaugural class in 2004-05 on the men’s side. He was also an assistant for Colontino on the women’s team when it was disbanded.
The 2008 RMU alum spent 10 years with the women’s program, the first four as an assistant coach and the last six as associate head coach.
“He’s been very passionate about his desire to lead the relaunch of the women’s program,” athletic director Chris King said of Bittle on Thursday. “I know that he knows how to build a winning culture, a winning program. To me, he was the obvious choice as the top target since Day 1.”
When the teams were initially eliminated, Bittle began coaching the Pens Elite Girls U16/19 teams. He was also among the founding members of the Pittsburgh College Hockey Foundation, which was the fundraising and student-athlete support hub that spearheaded efforts to get the teams back on the ice.
“The relationships that I built with the alumni and the families, it was a natural fit for me. I really enjoyed it,” Bittle said. “Everybody wants to be a head coach. I got to do that this year with the Pens. The opportunity to go back to Robert Morris as the head coach is a job that I am grateful for and so excited about.”
Bittle is also married to Brianne McLaughlin-Bittle, a former U.S. Olympian who was a goalie on the women’s team.
“Guiding this program that has meant so much to me and my family is an unbelievable opportunity. I’m excited to hit the ground running,” Bittle said.
Schooley, who worked hand-in-hand with Bittle as part of the reinstatement efforts, said his former player was the best possible choice.
“If there is a ‘Mr. Colonial,’ as far hockey goes, he has done a little bit of everything,” Schooley said while recruiting in Michigan. “He saw how we (started a new team) in 2004. He saw what we had to do to be successful. How to build a program up.”
That’s something that Schooley will now have to do for a second time on the men’s side. But at least he’ll be doing so with the security of a five-year contract. For both Bittle and Schooley, that timeline toward getting a team on the ice may still feel a long way off. The Colonials won’t skate the rest of this season or all of next year.
But, with the giant task of reconstructing two programs at the same time, it may also feel like opening night is just around the corner.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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