Nearly 50 years after he arrived in Durham as a college freshman, University of New Hampshire men’s hockey Coach Dick Umile will retire from his post behind the Wildcats’ bench following the 2017-18 season.
The university announced Wednesday that Umile will coach the final year of his contract before associate head coach Mike Souza takes over the reigns.
“Coach Umile and I spoke about how this next season will be spent continuing the effort to re-build UNH hockey into a national caliber program that competes in the NCAA tournament and the Frozen Four,” UNH Athletic Director Marty Scarano said in a press release.
“That has been, and always will be, our aspiration,” he added. “We are fortunate to have Mike Souza here changing the culture in recruiting and gaining more invaluable experience to become the 14th head coach of UNH hockey at the completion of the 2017-18 season.”
Umile and the university agreed to a three-year contract extension in 2015, shortly after Souza was added to the coaching staff as the heir apparent. Souza, who played under Umile as a UNH skater from 1996 to 2000, spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the University of Connecticut before returning to Durham.
Umile’s final season will be his 28th behind the Wildcats’ bench. He is the longest tenured active coach in Hockey East.
“I’m excited to come back for the final season of my contract and still have a strong desire to win,” Umile said in the release. “With a strong nucleus returning and exciting newcomers on the way, we are determined to get UNH hockey back to the level of annually competing in the NCAA tournament.”
Umile has led UNH to four Frozen Four appearances and two national championship games in 1999 and 2003. The Wildcats have not been a Frozen Four team since the 2003 season, which ended in a 5-1 loss to Minnesota in the title game.
A stretch of 10 straight NCAA Tournament appearances ended in 2011. The Wildcats have since made the tournament once (2013) in the last six years. Their 2016-17 season ended Sunday in an 8-2 loss to Lowell in the Hockey East quarterfinals. UNH finished the season with a 15-20-5 record.
“We look forward to the challenge of reaching NCAAs next year and our focus is on having the program in great shape when Mike Souza takes over as head coach,” Umile said.
“I am confident next season will be one in which we build from within, make inroads in recruiting and continue to bolster an exciting future,” Scarano said.
Umile declined to comment when asked following Sunday’s game if he would be back for another year. He is scheduled to meet with reporters Thursday afternoon to wrap the season.
(Nick Stoico can be reached at 369-3339, nstoico@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @NickStoico.)