Sideline Stories: Coach Dave Gonyea, Director of Athletics, CMCC
I arrived at Central Maine Technical College in August of 1993, hired as the Director of Housing and Athletics. Frankly, I think the main reason I was hired was to clean up a residence hall that was experiencing disobedience, fights, and had been an ongoing problem for the college. At 36, I was at an age where hard work came naturally, long hours didn’t bother me, and the challenge of changing the image of the residence halls was a motivator to show those who hired me they’d made a good decision.
I took over the basketball team at the end of the year. I knew to be successful I had to bring in some talent to compete. And that is what I did. I recruited six talented basketball players to come to CM and play basketball. Given our roster of six returning players and six newcomers, we were off to the races and winning some games early. Okay, mistake one. At the break, all six players I’d recruited failed their classes and were suspended. We now finished the season with six players, limping through a virtually winless second half. Lesson learned—recruit kids who wanted to go to college AND play basketball. I now relay that experience to all incoming coaches we hire so they don’t repeat my mistakes!
The 1997 season is when things really began to change. A new president, Dr. Scott Knapp, arrived on the scene and brought a “let’s get things done” attitude and a growth mindset. I couldn’t have been happier! We starting growing the enrollment and, with Dr Knapp’s support, expanded summer camps to bring in more revenue for the program. Baseball and softball were added to the mix as well.
The new century began with a name change. In 2003, the state decided to drop the name “technical” and started calling our colleges “community.” What a difference a name can make! Enrollment, which had been growing each year since President Knapp’s first year, is now on a steady growth path and the results trickled down to the athletic program.
Our basketball program began to win each year. A twenty-win season became the norm. Recruiting players each off season became the standard. The publicity became positive and soon all knew about the Central Maine Community College basketball team. Our local newspaper (a time when local newspapers were really important to growth) covered our program regularly and always put a positive spin on our successes. Finding student athletes was not hard. Many kids throughout Maine wanted to come to CM and play basketball—and the wins mounted up.
During the last 27 years, I’ve gone along for the ride. My name is now on the basketball court. What an honor! However, that name represents many coaches, faculty, staff, and most importantly, players whose hard work and sweat are all over the court. A packed house became familiar. They were not in the gym to see me. They wanted to see the passion and commitment it took to be part of the CM basketball program. It didn’t matter whether it was the women or men, fans love CM basketball. Go, Mustangs!
As we move forward, my name will forever be on the court. For that, I am extremely grateful.