Dan Gooley `70 was hired as Quinnipiac’s 10th head baseball coach on June 7, 2001. Gooley, who coached the Bobcats from 1977-1987 and is its all-time leader in coaching victories, replaced Joe Mattei, who retired in May 2001 after five seasons. In 27 years as a head coach at Quinnipiac and the University of Hartford, Gooley has accumulated an impressive 507 wins. In 23 years ast Quinnipiac's head coach he coached former major leaguers Turk Wendell (Quinnipiac) and Jeff Bagwell (Hartford) and current major leaguer Pat Egan.

In his first tenure as head coach at Quinnipiac, Gooley led the Bobcats to a 203-122-5 record in 11 seasons, including five 20-win campaigns, three NCAA Division II regional appearances (1979, 1983, and 1984) and the school’s lone College World Series appearance (1983). In a three-year span from 1982-84, Gooley’s team totaled a 72-25-1 mark (.740). 

Gooley then moved to the University of Hartford and served five seasons as the head coach of the Hawks’ Division I program. From 1988-1992, Gooley compiled a 101-90-1 (.529) record and led the Hawks to two appearances in the ECAC Division I Championships. 

In 1988, Gooley was named the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Coaches Association’s Coach of the Year after leading the Hawks to a outstanding 29-12 record and a runner-up finish in the ECAC Championships. 

For three years before his return to coach the Bobcats, Gooley served as Quinnipiac’s director of athletic development, spearheading corporate and alumni support for the University’s three-year Division I athletic program. Prior to his arrival at Quinnipiac, Gooley spent six years as the director of team services/major league baseball for the Starter Corporation in New Haven. 

A member of the Quinnipiac Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame, Gooley had a storied playing career for the Bobcats. The school’s career strikeout leader (316), Gooley ranks second with 20 victories and a 2.47 earned run average. After graduation, Gooley served six seasons as an assistant baseball coach at Quinnipiac. 

In 2004, he guided the Bobcats to a 23-21 overall record, 16-7 in Northeast Conference play. Quinnipiac finished second in the league during the regular season and advanced to the NEC Playoffs. He was named the Northeast Conference Coach of the Year and the Connecticut Baseball College Coach of the Year. 

In 2005, the Bobcats finished 26-24 and captured their first-ever NEC regular season and tournament championships. Gooley’s Quinnipiac squad has gotten better in each season since his return. The 26 wins matches a high for wins in a single season at Quinnipiac. The 1988 club went to a Division II regional after posting a 26-8-1 record. In addition, the 2005 squad advanacedto their first-ever Division I NCAA Regional at the University of Texas. 2007 was a banner year for the Quinnipiac baseball team. The Bobcats took the Northeast Conference Championship and were seeded No. 1 in the NEC Championship Tournament. The Bobcats also tied the 1988 team for the most wins in a season while also setting the Division I mark at Quinnipiac. Gooley’s 2008 team featured four players who would go on to play professionally in Pat Egan, Tim Binkoski, Randy Gress and Wilson Matos. 

Gooley, who holds a B.S. in marketing from Quinnipiac and a master’s degree in sociology from Southern Connecticut State University, resides in New Haven with his wife Susan and daughter Bree.