Ferris State University men's ice hockey head coach Bob Daniels, who is in his 29th season at the Bulldog helm, recently became only the third coach in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey history to coach more than 1,100 games at the same school.
Daniels, who coached his 1,100th game on Feb. 13 at Michigan Tech and has now coached in 1,102 games following this past weekend's home series against Minnesota State, joins longtime Boston University head coach Jack Parker and former Michigan head coach Red Berenson as the third head coach in history at the D1 level with more than 1,100 games on the bench at a single institution.
Currently, Daniels' 29 seasons to date as a head coach are the third-most of any active NCAA Division I head coach in the country.
In addition to having one of the nation's longest-tenured head coaches, the Bulldogs also boast one of the country's most experienced coaching staffs as Associate Head Coach Drew Famulak has been beside him on the Bulldog bench for 28 years and assistant coach Mark Kaufman has been with the program for 17 seasons in two different stints dating back to Daniels' first staff in 1992. Additionally, Dave Cencer, who holds the role of Coordinator of Athletic Performance, is in his 15th season on the Bulldog Hockey staff.
The all-time winningest coach in Bulldog history and a two-time National Coach of the Year, Daniels has led FSU to four conference titles along with four NCAA tournament appearances in his tenure in addition to the 2012 national championship game. Presently, he's also serving on the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Committee with a four-year term representing the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
In 2011-12, Daniels claimed Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) and National Coach of the Year accolades for the second time in his career after leading the Bulldogs to the program's second-ever league regular-season championship and a historic first-ever trip to the Frozen Four where FSU reached the national championship game.
Two years later, Daniels guided the Bulldogs to the WCHA Regular-Season Championship in FSU's debut season in the league in 2013-14 along with an NCAA Elite Eight appearance while earning WCHA Coach of the Year accolades and runner-up honors for National Coach of the Year.
Daniels also led FSU to the school's first postseason tournament championship ever in 2016 as the Bulldogs claimed the WCHA Final Five Championship during a memorable postseason run. FSU advanced to the national tournament for the third time in five years while reaching the NCAA Final Eight for the fourth time in program history.
Having the longest tenure of any FSU hockey coach, Daniels has coached 10 All-Americans during his coaching career at Ferris, including most notably 2002-03 Hobey Baker Hat Trick Award finalist and FSU's first-ever CCHA Player of the Year Chris Kunitz, who went on to become a four-time Stanley Cup Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist.
A 1982 graduate of Michigan State, Daniels began his coaching career as the head coach of the Hennessey Engineers of the North American Hockey League. He started his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at Miami (Ohio) before becoming an assistant at the University of Illinois at Chicago and then at Ferris State. He became head coach for the Bulldogs in 1992.
The Livonia, Mich., native has also served as a coach with various USA Hockey teams, including the United States Junior National Team. In addition, he has served on various committees for the American Hockey Coaches Association, including four years as a member of the Board of Governors.