Mitch Buonaguro (Former Head Coach)

Mitch Buonaguro

Teams coached: Fairfield Stags, Siena Saints
Fairfield record: 72-103 (.411)
Siena record: 35-59 (.372)
Overall record: 107-162 (.398)

Mitch Buonaguro
Born December 4, 1953
Hometown: Queens, New York
Alma Mater: Boston College (BA, 1975)
The Queens-native played guard at Boston College under head Bob Zuffelato
- Started his coaching career at his alma mater, assisting Zuffelato for two seasons
Joined Rollie Massimino‘s staff at Villanova in 1977, working with the Wildcats for the next eight seasons
- Buonaguro was part of the coaching staff in 1985 when the Wildcats won the NCAA Tournament
Hired the following season to be the head coach at Fairfield, going 72-103 in six seasons with the Stags
- Started his tenure with back-to-back NCAA Tournament bids thanks to two MAAC Tournament titles
- Won 10 or fewer games each season from 1987-91 and was fired in 1991
Spent five seasons as an assistant at Texas A&M under Tony Barone, then seven more under Massimino at Cleveland State
Joined Fran McCaffery‘s staff at UNC Greensboro in 2003, then followed McCaffery to Siena in 2005
- After five years at Siena, McCaffery left for Iowa and Buonaguro was elevated to head coach of the Saints
- Was just 35-59 in three seasons at the helm, finishing 6th or worse in the MAAC each year
A couple years after getting let go by Siena, Buonaguro returned to Fairfield to assist head coach Sydney Johnson
- In between jobs, Buonaguro served as a television analyst for MAAC basketball games
Hired in January 2020 to be a consultant to the men’s and women’s programs at D-II College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY