Michael Donahue

Bio

Michael Joseph Donahue was born in County Kerry, Ireland, and came to the United States at the age of 12. After a distinguished athletic career at Yale, became one of the first great coaches in the south. While a student at Yale, Donahue lettered in football, basketball, track and cross country, and then began his coaching career. And after 23 seasons at Auburn (1904-1906, 1908-1922) and Louisiana State (1923-1927), Donahue had compiled an overall record of 122-54-8. Today, Donahue would be considered a "player's coach." When a practice was not going well, Donahue would find a humorous means to deliver a message. However, his charm did have its limits, he expected nothing less than total dedication to the game and 100% effort on the playing field. His easy-going nature was in sharp contrast with the rough personalities of other major college coaches. Donahue's Auburn teams won the championships of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1913, 1914, and 1919. He served as director of athletics at Spring Hill College 1929-36, was intramural sports director at Louisiana State 1937-48, and retired in 1949. Donahue Drive, on the Auburn campus, is named for him. His 1913 and 1914 teams were undefeated, with the 1914 squad unscored upon, finishing 8-0-1 with a tie against Georgia.