Linda Hill-MacDonald Announces Retirement

After a career that spanned more than 40 years, with the last two seasons being spent on the bench at Canisius, long-time women's basketball coach Linda Hill-MacDonald announced that she will officially retire from coaching on May 8.

Hill-MacDonald joined head coach Scott Hemer's staff at Canisius prior to the 2018-19 campaign after serving as the head women's basketball coach at Fredonia State for five seasons. In that time, she led the Blue Devils to three winning campaigns and three SUNYAC Women's Basketball Tournament berths.

"Linda has been a pioneer in the development of women's basketball and she has had an incredible impact on the lives of young ladies at each step of her career," Hemer said. "She is the living embodiment of what a role model for female athletes should be.

It has truly been an honor to have Linda as a member of our staff at Canisius College and I am grateful for the time she gave to me. I looked up to her throughout our time on opposing sidelines and will always cherish our relationship, as well as the impact she has had on me as a colleague. On behalf of our entire program, I wish Linda all the best as she embarks on her next chapter in life."

A three-sport athlete at Ridley High School in Folsom, Pa., Hill-MacDonald spent 10 years as a high school coach before being named the first full-time head women's basketball coach at Temple University in 1980. She later served as head coach at the University of Minnesota, and the University at Buffalo, as well as an assistant coach at the University of South Carolina. Professionally, she served as the head coach of the WNBA Cleveland Rockers, and worked for two other WNBA teams.

At Temple, she coached the Owls for 10 seasons and won a then program record 166 games. Her teams made one NCAA and two WNIT appearances. Hill-MacDonald was twice chosen Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, and she was named Big 5 Coach of the Year once and Philadelphia Area Coach of the Year one time as well.

She left Temple for Minnesota in 1990, and her best season came in 1993-94 when the Golden Gophers finished 18-11. Entrusted with raising the team's overall academic performance, Hill-MacDonald had 20 players named Academic All-Big Ten during her seven seasons. She had previously served as an academic advisor at Temple, where she was in charge of study skill sessions and tutoring programs for all female student-athletes.

In 1997, Cleveland was granted one of eight original WNBA franchises, and team owner Gordon Gund chose Hill-MacDonald as the franchise's first head coach. The Rockers finished 15-13 in their first season, and then improved to 20-10 in 1998 en route to Eastern Conference crown and a meeting against Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA semifinals. She coached the Rockers through the 1999 season, and was chosen to coach the Eastern Conference in the inaugural WNBA All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden in 1999.

After leaving Cleveland, Hill-MacDonald had two stints as an assistant coach at the University of South Carolina, and spent time as an assistant coach for the WNBA Washington Mystics. She also served as a scout for the WNBA's New York Liberty before she was hired as the head coach at the University at Buffalo in 2005.

In addition to her UB coaching duties, she directed her teams' participation in community outreach and volunteer programs. She also took part in various public relations and fund-raising activities, and organized and directed the program's summer basketball camps. She coached the Bulls through the end of the 2011-2012 campaign.

Originally from Morton, Pa., Hill-MacDonald attended West Chester University where she earned athletic awards in field hockey, basketball and lacrosse, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in health, physical education and recreation. She went on to earn her master's degree in physical education from West Chester, and is both a member of the West Chester Athletic Hall of Fame and a West Chester Distinguished Alumni. She is a member of the Ridley Township Old Timers' Hall of Fame, as well.

Among her numerous professional honors, Hill-MacDonald served as president of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and has served on numerous women's basketball national committees. She is the 1989 recipient of the WBCA Carol Eckman Award and was honorary chairperson of the 1991 International Special Olympics.

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