The La Salle Official Announcement of New Wbb Coach Mountain MacGillivray’s Hire

PHILADELPHIA – Mountain MacGillivray, a Philadelphia native who helped lead Quinnipiac to seven straight 20-win seasons and a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2017, has been appointed the ninth head coach in La Salle University women's basketball history, it was announced by Director of Athletics Bill Bradshaw on Saturday.

A press conference officially welcoming MacGillivray will be held on Monday, April 23 at TruMark Financial Center, beginning at 1:00 p.m.

"We are excited to welcome Mountain back home to Philadelphia as he takes over leadership of our women's basketball program," Bradshaw said. "He's been a key member of an exceptional program at Quinnipiac over the last few years and has been an integral part of their success both in recruiting and game preparation. His deep roots in Philadelphia high school basketball will help attract the top local talent from the area to La Salle."

MacGillivray spent the previous nine seasons at Quinnipiac, including the last three as the associate head coach. The Bobcats had tremendous success during MacGillivray's tenure, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament in four of the past five seasons, including three wins in NCAA play over the last two seasons.
 
Quinnipiac went undefeated in the MAAC in 2017-18 for the third time in six years, winning the conference regular season title for the fifth time in six seasons. After earning the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament with a victory over Marist in the MAAC title game, the Bobcats earned a No. 9 seed and defeated Miami (Fla.) in the opening round.

"I am honored to have the opportunity to coach at La Salle University," "MacGillivray said. "The challenge of building a championship program at this proud and historic University is thrilling and I am excited to get started."
 
In 2016-17, MacGillivray helped Quinnipiac to a pair of upset wins in NCAA Tournament action, defeating Marquette and Miami (Fla.) en route to the Sweet 16. The Bobcats have won four conference championships and averaged 26 wins over the past seven seasons, and head coach Tricia Fabbri won MAAC Coach of the Year four times with the contributions of MacGillivray. 
 
Prior to Quinnipiac, MacGillivray served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of New Hampshire for two seasons from 2007-09, helping the Wildcats improve their finish in the conference in both seasons. 
 
MacGillivray got his start in collegiate coaching as an assistant at the University of Vermont in 1999-2000, guiding the Catamounts to the NCAA Tournament that year after winning the America East regular season and tournament championships.
 
MacGillivray has 13 years of experience coaching at the high school and AAU levels, helping turn Archbishop Carroll High School in Radnor, Pennsylvania into one of the most successful prep programs in the country. He also guided the Philadelphia AAU Lady Running Rebels from 2000-02 and Delaware Valley Comets AAU team in 2006.
 
A 1996 graduate of Temple with a degree in Journalism, MacGillivray and his wife Grace have seven children: Chiara, Mary, Brigid, Sean, Catherine, Joseph and Theresa.

For more information about the La Salle University Women's Basketball Program and La Salle Athletics, please visit: GoExplorers.com. For information about the University, please visit: lasalle.edu.

What They Are Saying About Mountain MacGillivray...

Tricia Fabbri, Head Coach at Quinnipiac University

"It is rare in this business to get a coach on staff who cares about the program with the same attention to detail that you do. For the past nine years, Mountain has been that coach. We've experienced unprecedented success here during his tenure and he bears a great deal of responsibility for that from the recruitment of next level student-athletes that we've had to their remarkable development as both people and players. I can't overstate what he's meant to the improvement of this program and the impact he's had on my life. I'm proud to have had him as a colleague and privileged to call him a friend."

Barry Kirsch, Longtime Head Girls' Basketball Coach, Archbishop Carroll

"Mountain was a loyal 13-year assistant coach at Archbishop Carroll High School. He was always eager to learn and willing to do whatever it took to make our players successful. He brought intensity and innovation to practice each day and was constantly inspiring the girls to be the best they could be. Mountain and his wife, Grace, along with their seven children, will bring a strong sense of family to La Salle University. The players on the team will be treated as part of his family and will know that he wants them to be successful on the court, in the classroom and in life after basketball. This is a great day for the La Salle community and for Mountain and his family. I am very proud to have worked with him and wish him much success. His many years of working as an assistant have finally paid off and now he can show everyone how good a coach he is."