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| Robert Morris athletics photo |
Michael Byrnes has been hired as Rhode Island College's head men's basketball coach. Byrnes takes over the Anchormen basketball program from Bob Walsh, who stepped down to take the head coaching reins at Div. I Maine after nine seasons at the helm.
"I'm very excited and proud to join the Rhode Island College family," Byrnes said. "I look forward to build on the strong foundation that president Nancy Carriuolo, athletic director Don Tencher and coach Walsh have laid. I will challenge our student-athletes day-in and day-out to be champions on and off the floor.”
Byrnes joins the RIC athletic department after spending four seasons as an assistant coach at Division I Robert Morris. Byrnes joined the staff at RMU with 16 years of coaching experience at the prep school level, including 14 seasons at the Winchendon School in Winchendon, Mass.
As an assistant at RMU in his four seasons, Byrnes helped the Colonials stretch their streak of consecutive winning seasons to nine as Robert Morris finished 18-14 (.563) in 2010-11 and tied a school record for victories with an overall mark of 26-11 (.703) in 2011-12. RMU appeared in the NEC tournament championship game each season.
During his time as a head coach at the prep level, Byrnes compiled an overall record of 404-131 (.755), claimed a pair of New England Prep School Athletic Conference championships and sent over 100 players to Div. I institutions, including Louisville, Villanova, Providence, Robert Morris, Harvard and Penn.
Byrnes started his coaching career as an assistant coach at Ferrum in 1991-92 before serving in the same capacity with Roanoke in 1992-93.
From 1993 to 1995, Byrnes was both an assistant and head coach at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., before returning to the collegiate ranks to serve as a graduate assistant coach with UMass, in 1995-96.
A 1990 graduate of the University of Massachusetts with a bachelor’s degree in sports management, Byrnes was a three-year letterwinner for the Minutemen, appearing in 44 career games, including a pair of starts. He was honored with the Lorenzo Sutton Award in 1988-89, which is bestowed annually to the most improved player for the program.