Dave Paulsen
Dave Paulsen (born September 14, 1964)
Current position: Head men’s basketball coach
Current team: Holy Cross Crusaders
Current conference: Patriot League
St. Lawrence record: 50-28 (.641)
Le Moyne record: 42-39 (.519)
Williams record: 170-53 (.762)
Bucknell record: 134-94 (.588)
George Mason record: 58-91 (.389) **
Holy Cross record: 10-23 (.303)
Overall record^: 464-328 (.586) **
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 2 (2011, 2013)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 2 (2012, 2015)
- CBI Appearances: 1 (2017)
- Patriot League Regular Season Champion: 4 (2011, 2012, 2013, 2015)
- NESCAC (Div III) Regular Season Champion: 2 (2003, 2004)
- NE-10 (Div II) Regular Season Champion: 1 (1998)
- UCAA (Div III) Regular Season Champion: 1 (1997)
- Patriot League Tournament Champion: 2 (2011, 2013)
- NESCAC (Div III) Tournament Champion: 2 (2003, 2004, 2007)
- NCAA Division III National Championships: 1 (2003)
- NCAA Division III Tournament Appearances: 6 (1996, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007)
- NCAA Division III Tournament Final Four: 2 (2003, 2004)
Awards:
- Patriot League Coach of the Year: 3 (2011, 2012, 2015)
- NABC Div III Coach of the Year: 2 (2003, 2004)
- NESCAC (Div III) Coach of the Year: 3 (2003, 2004, 2007)
- UCAA (Div III) Coach of the Year: 2 (1996, 1997)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2023-present | Holy Cross |
| 2022-2023 | Fordham (asst) |
| 2021-2022 | Fordham (advisor) |
| 2015-2021 | George Mason |
| 2008-2015 | Bucknell |
| 2000-2008 | Williams |
| 1997-2000 | Le Moyne |
| 1994-1997 | St. Lawrence |
| 1990-1994 | Cleveland State (asst) |
| 1989-1990 | Michigan (asst) |
| 1988-1989 | Williams (asst) |
Dave Paulsen Facts
- Dave Paulsen
- Born September 14, 1964
- Hometown: Wausau, Wisconsin
- Alma Mater: Williams College (BA, 1987) / University of Michigan (MA, 1990)
- Was an assistant for one season under Harry Sheehy at D-III Hamilton, then moved up to the D-I level where he worked at Michigan for one season under Steve Fisher and at Cleveland State for four seasons under Mike Boyd
- Spent fourteen seasons as a head coach at the D-III level, with stints at St. Lawrence (50-28 over three seasons), Le Moyne (42-39 over three) and back at Williams College (170-53 in eight seasons)
- Won the 2003 NCAA D-III National Championship with Williams and was Runner-Up the year after
- Earned five coach of the year awards – two in the UCAA and three in the NESCAC
- Returned to Division I in 2008 as the head coach at Bucknell
- Won 134 games and went to the postseason four times (2 NCAA, 2 NIT) in seven years
- Recruited and coached 2x Patriot League POY and 2013 NBA Draft pick Mike Muscala
- Hired in March 2015 as the new head coach at George Mason
- Took the Patriots to the 2017 CBI in his second season
- In March 2021, Paulsen was fired after six seasons at the helm; was 95-91 overall, but 37 wins were later vacated by the NCAA
- Paulsen spent the 2021-22 as a special advisor to Kyle Neptune at Fordham and then in June 2022 was elevated to assistant coach with the Rams by new head coach Keith Urgo
- Made his return to the Patriot League in March 2023 when he was hired to be the new head coach at Holy Cross
Dave Paulsen Coaching Tree
- Tobin Anderson (Iona, Fairleigh Dickinson, St. Thomas Aquinas, Hamilton, Clarkson)
- Pat Duquette (UMass Lowell)
- Dane Fischer (William & Mary)
- Aaron Kelly (Catholic U)
- Charles Lee (Charlotte Hornets)
- Josh Loeffler (Loyola MD, Johns Hopkins, Stevens)
- Duane Simpkins (American)
- Eric Skeeters (Delaware State)
- Tim Sweeney (Connecticut College, Hobart College)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at the NCAA Division I, Division II and Division III levels; Le Moyne was a Division II program during Paulsen’s tenure there
** Listed records and accomplishments for this coach do not include wins or appearances later vacated by the NCAA