Rick Comley
Encyclopedia
Rick Comley is a former collegiate ice hockey player and former head coach at Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...

. Following the 2005-06 season, Comley has an overall coaching record of 768-596-106 (.561). In 2007, he became the third coach in NCAA history to win a national championship at two different schools.

Playing career

Comley played at Lake Superior State University
Lake Superior State University
Lake Superior State University is a small public university in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It is Michigan's smallest public university with an enrollment around 3,000 students. Due to its proximity to the border, notably the twin city of Sault Ste...

 in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie is a city in and the county seat of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the north-eastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, on the Canadian border, separated from its twin city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by the St. Marys River...

 (1967–1971) under head coach Ron Mason
Ron Mason
Ron Mason is a Canadian former ice hockey player, head coach and university executive. As head coach of various universities, notably including Michigan State University , he became the winningest ice hockey coach in NCAA history with 924 career wins...

, college hockey's career coaching victories leader. In his senior season, Comley was named LSSU team captain and Most Valuable Player and was selected NAIA
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...

 All-American. He was also named LSSU's Most Outstanding Athlete that year.

Lake Superior State

Comley rejoined the LSSU program as an assistant coach for the 1972-73 season. When head coach Ron Mason
Ron Mason
Ron Mason is a Canadian former ice hockey player, head coach and university executive. As head coach of various universities, notably including Michigan State University , he became the winningest ice hockey coach in NCAA history with 924 career wins...

 took the head coaching position at Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...

, Comley was named his successor. Comley compiled a 59-46-3 mark in the three seasons at Lake Superior winning the CCHA
Central Collegiate Hockey Association
The Central Collegiate Hockey Association is a NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey college athletic conference that operates mostly in Michigan and Ohio, although it also has members in Alaska and Indiana. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. It holds its championship...

 regular-season title and NAIA
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...

 national championship in 1974.

Northern Michigan

With an offer from Northern Michigan University
Northern Michigan University
Northern Michigan University is a four-year college public university established in 1899 located in Marquette, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. With a population of nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, Northern Michigan University is the Upper Peninsula's largest...

 that included a recruiting budget twice the size of LSSU, Comley departed Sault Ste. Marie for Marquette to start NMU's varsity ice hockey program. Northern Michigan completed its first season in 1977 with a winning record of 19-13-1. In the program's fourth season, Comley guided NMU to their first of two consecutive CCHA regular-season and play-off championships. With those championships in 1980 and 1981, Northern Michigan earned automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament. The 34-6-1 1980 team defeated University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

 in Minneapolis advancing to the NCAA Frozen Four where they defeated No. 1 seed Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

 to make the national championship game. The team lost the national championship to University of North Dakota
University of North Dakota
The University of North Dakota is a public university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA. Established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of North Dakota, UND is the oldest and largest university in the state and enrolls over 14,000 students. ...

, 5-2. Again, Comley guided NMU to the NCAA Frozen Four in 1981 with a victory over Cornell before losing to eventual national champion Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...

 and archrival Michigan Tech in the consolation game.

In 1984 Comley and Northern Michigan followed Michigan Tech to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association
Western Collegiate Hockey Association
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association is a college athletic conference which operates over a wide area of the Midwestern and Western United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as an ice hockey-only conference....

. In the WCHA, Comley coached NMU to seven 20-win season in nine years. He won the WCHA MacNaughton Cup
MacNaughton Cup
The MacNaughton Cup is a trophy awarded annually to the regular season conference champion of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association . The trophy is named after James MacNaughton of Calumet, Michigan, who was an avid supporter of amateur ice hockey...

 as regular-season champions in 1991 and won the Broadmoor Trophy
Broadmoor Trophy
The Broadmoor Trophy is a trophy that has been awarded to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoff champion since 1985. The trophy itself dates to 1981, when it was awarded to the WCHA regular season champion for three seasons, from 1981-82 to 1983-84...

 as play-off champions in 1989, 1991 and 1992. During Northern Michigan's time in the WCHA, the Wildcats made the NCAA tournament in 1989, 1991, 1992 and 1993 winning the 1991 NCAA National Championship in a dramatic triple overtime game against Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...

.

In a university-wide effort to gain more presence in the lower peninsula of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

, Comley switched NMU's hockey program back to the CCHA in 1997. The move proved to re-energize hockey at Northern Michigan which had three straight losing seasons prior to 1997-98. Comley coached NMU to five straight winning seasons and three trips to Joe Louis Arena for the CCHA championships. In 1999, Northern Michigan made the CCHA title game, but lost to University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

. The championship appearance earned Comley and NMU their first berth in the NCAA tournament since 1993.

During his time at NMU, Comley also served as athletic director from 1987-2000 highlighted by: major improvements in facilities including the building and completion of Superior Dome
Superior Dome
The Superior Dome, which opened as the "world’s largest wooden dome" on September 14, 1991, is a domed stadium on the campus of Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan. It is home to the Northern Michigan Wildcats football team, as well as a variety of campus and community events...

 and Berry Events Center
Berry Events Center
Berry Events Center is a 4,300-seat multi-purpose arena in Marquette, Michigan, in the United States that opened in 1999. It is home to the Northern Michigan University Wildcats ice hockey and basketball teams. The arena also houses the US Speedskating Team. It was built in 1999, and is named for...

, several Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is a competitive intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division II. The GLIAC was founded in June 1972. Member institutions are located in the midwestern United States in the States of Michigan and Ohio, with affiliate...

 championships, two NCAA Division II titles in women's volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

, and the establishment of the U.S. Olympic Educational Center.

Michigan State

Rick Comley was announced as Ron Mason
Ron Mason
Ron Mason is a Canadian former ice hockey player, head coach and university executive. As head coach of various universities, notably including Michigan State University , he became the winningest ice hockey coach in NCAA history with 924 career wins...

's successor as head ice hockey coach at Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...

 in March 2002. Comley was succeeded at NMU by former player and New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...

 assistant Walt Kyle. Previously, Comley declined head coaching offers at Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...

 in 1979 and 1994 and at University of Denver
University of Denver
The University of Denver is currently ranked 82nd among all public and private "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report in the 2012 rankings....

 in 1994.

Comley's tenure at MSU has been turbulent replacing the iconic Ron Mason. While Mason's final five years produced no less than 27 wins in a single season, Comley has yet to win more than 26 games in a single season in his first five years. Inconsistent play, sub-par records, missing the NCAA Tournament twice in his first three seasons and no CCHA regular season titles have left doubt in MSU hockey fans' minds that Comley is an acceptable replacement as coach. The unwillingness by MSU to make a coaching change has left those fans with the thought that Mason, former athletic director at MSU, hired and keeps Comley as part of a friend helping a friend. Comley is slowly erasing doubts with improvements in 2006 and 2007. After missing the NCAA Tournament in 2005, Comley guided MSU to a second-place CCHA finish and a CCHA play-off championship in 2005-06. In 2006-07, Michigan State was preseason ranked No. 5, which was MSU's highest preseason ranking since October 2001. The team was, again, inconsistent but earned an NCAA Tournament bid. In a stunning series of games, the Comley-led MSU team defeated three higher-ranked teams en route to the national championship including No. 1-ranked Notre Dame in the Midwest Regional final and No. 4-ranked Boston College in the National Championship game. The NCAA championship has secured Comley's ability to guide MSU as one of the top programs in the country.

Comley has announced that he will retire at the end of the 2010-2011 season.

Legacy

Rick Comley is one of only five coaches to have won more than 700 games, and one of only three to have won NCAA Championships at two separate schools. Comley was the CCHA coach of the year twice (1980 and 1981) and WCHA coach of the year twice (1989 and 1991). He has won the Spencer Penrose
Spencer Penrose
Spencer Penrose was a philanthropist in and around Colorado Springs at the turn of the 20th century. He was born into a prominent Philadelphia family of Cornish descent and was brother to Boies Penrose and Richard Penrose...

 Memorial Trophy as the national coach of the year twice (1980 and 1991). He was runner-up for the Spencer Penrose Trophy in 2007.

In his 33 seasons as a head coach, Rick Comley coached 1991 Hobey Baker Memorial Award runner-up Brad Werenka
Brad Werenka
John Bradley Werenka is a former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the second round of the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, 47th overall. Werenka played college hockey for the Northern Michigan University Wildcats, with whom he won the 1991 NCAA hockey title...

 and nine Hobey Baker finalists. He has coached 14 AHCA First and Second Team All-Americans, three CCHA players of the year, one WCHA player of the year, 20 First and Second Team All-CCHA selections, 13 First Team and Second Team All-WCHA selection and 19 players who went on to play in the NHL.

In addition Comley has 25 seasons with a winning record, 17 seasons winning 20 or more games and two seasons winning 30 or more games. Comley has won two CCHA regular-season championships, three CCHA play-off titles, one WCHA regular-season title and four WCHA play-off titles. His teams have advanced to the NCAA tournament nine times making the Frozen Four four times.

External links

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