Muhlenberg athletics photo

Longtime Muhlenberg coach Mike Donnelly, who had taken this season off to battle acute monocytic leukemia, has died. He was 65.

Donnelly, who was head coach at the Division III school for 20 years, has many former assistants now coaching at programs across the country. He had received a bone marrow transfusion, and died from complications surrounding the disease and procedure. Donnelly had been receiving treatment in Buffalo, New York, at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute. 

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The coach was last with his team in August, at the team's preseason scrimmage. Muhlenberg athletics director Corey Goff has been the team's acting head coach this season.

Donnelly coached the Mules to a record of 140-74 in his 20 seasons as head coach and is the winningest coach in the program's history. That includes shares of seven Centennial Conference championships and seven trips to the NCAA playoffs.

Donnelly is a 1975 graduate of Ithaca, where he was an all-conference linebacker under longtime coach Jim Butterfield.

Donnelly is survived by his wife, Beth, and children, Lauren and Brendan.

Muhlenberg College will host a celebration of his extraordinary life and coaching career at a date to be determined.