NEW PALTZ — Longtime SUNY New Paltz athletic department fixture Joe Donovan passed away Sunday night at his home after a short illness. He was 78.
Donovan, who retired from New Paltz in 1996 after 26 years of service, held a wide variety of positions during his tenure. From physical education professor to athletic director to track coach to sports information director; Donovan wore many hats at the university – often simultaneously.
But it was his work as New Paltz’s athletic trainer and men’s basketball coach for which he was most often recognized. He coached basketball at the university from 1973-85, including guiding the 1979-80 team – which featured four eventual 1,000-point scorers – to a 17-10 record, and a berth in the ECAC Division II-III Tournament.
His long career as the Hawks’ Coordinator of Sports Medicine was marked by his induction into the National Sports Medicine Hall of Fame in Cleveland in 1993 and his selection as the American Athletic Trainers Association Trainer of the Year in 1989. He was inducted into New Paltz’s Hawk Hall of Fame in 1998.
Prior to his arrival at New Paltz in 1970, Donovan, a Navy veteran, worked at Cornell University, as well as his alma mater Ithaca, and Niagara College. He also coached for a period of time on the high school level in northern and western New York.
Friends will be received from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. on Wednesday at Copeland Funeral Home in New Paltz. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Thursday at New Paltz’s St. Joseph’s Church.
