La Salle University Athletics

Mountain MacGillivray, a Philadelphia native who helped lead Quinnipiac to seven straight 20-win seasons and a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2017, was appointed the ninth head coach in La Salle University women's basketball history in April of 2018.

MacGillivray helped lead the Explorers to their best season yet under his tenure in the 2021-22 season. La Salle ended the regular season with a 16-12 overall record and a 9-6 performance in the Atlantic 10. The conference mark was the team's best record since the 1996-97 season when the Explorers put together a 12-4 performance in league play. La Salle was seeded at No. 5 in the conference to earn an automatic trip to the second round of the A-10 Tournament. The seeding was the highest in program history since the conference combined the East and West with La Salle last earning West No. 5 in the 2003-04 season.

During the 2019-20 campaign, MacGillivray's Explorers showed vast improvements from year one to two of his tenure, including the program's best start since 2006 at 6-1. The Blue & Gold more than doubled both its overall (13) and Atlantic 10 (7) win totals in year two. The victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions was La Salle's first over a Power 5 program since November 2015 and first over a Big 10 school since taking down Northwestern in December of 1988. The Explorers also swept Big 5 and A-10 rival Saint Joseph's for the first time ever. A gritty win over the Hawks inside Hagan Arena was the first since 1998.

In the same season, Kayla Spruill nearly doubled her points and tripled her rebounds per game to earn the title of Big 5 Most Improved Player. Claire Jacobs set a La Salle freshman record with 29 points in a game (on two different occasions) and 412 points for the year. These totals, along with her continued success throughout the year led her to earn All-Big 5 Second Team honors and a spot on the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team. Rounding out a trio of impressive performances for the 2019-20 season, Kate Hill finished fifth in the nation for assist to turnover ratio at 2.95.

Prior to MacGillivray and his staff taking over the program, Shalina Miller only recorded 49 blocks collectively in her freshman and sophomore campaigns. In her final two seasons with MacGillivray and co., Miller recorded 144 deflections for 193 career blocks to claim the program's all-time record. She also set the single season mark in back-to-back seasons. Her efforts in 2019-20 landed her on the Atlantic 10 All-Defensive team.

MacGillivray spent the previous nine seasons at Quinnipiac, including the last three as the associate head coach. The Bobcats had tremendous success during MacGillivray's tenure, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament in four of his last five seasons, including three wins in NCAA play over the final two.

MacGillivray's role with the Bobcats evolved through the years and one of his greatest responsibilities is within the recruiting of prospective student-athletes. His success in the recruiting landscape has only improved through the years as his last two incoming classes featured the four highest-ranked recruits in program history. In his eight years with the Bobcats, MacGillivray helped guide 18 All-Conference players, including 10 in his final three seasons, as well as three Defensive Player of the Year award winners and three Tournament MVPs.
 
Quinnipiac went undefeated in the MAAC in 2017-18 for the third time in six years, winning the conference regular season title for the fifth time in six seasons. After earning the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament with a victory over Marist in the MAAC title game, the Bobcats earned a No. 9 seed and defeated Miami (Fla.) in the opening round.

In 2016-17, MacGillivray helped Quinnipiac to a pair of upset wins in NCAA Tournament action, defeating Marquette and Miami (Fla.) en route to the Sweet 16. The Bobcats won four conference championships and averaged 26 wins over thatt seven year span, and head coach Tricia Fabbri won MAAC Coach of the Year four times with the contributions of MacGillivray. 
 
Prior to Quinnipiac, MacGillivray served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of New Hampshire for two seasons from 2007-09, helping the Wildcats improve their finish in the conference in both seasons. 
 
He got his start in collegiate coaching as an assistant at the University of Vermont in 1999-00, guiding the Catamounts to the NCAA Tournament that year after winning the America East regular season and tournament championships.
 
MacGillivray has 13 years of experience coaching at the high school and AAU levels, helping turn Archbishop Carroll High School in Radnor, Pennsylvania into one of the most successful prep programs in the country. He also guided the Philadelphia AAU Lady Running Rebels from 2000-02 and Delaware Valley Comets AAU team in 2006.
 
A 1996 graduate of Temple with a degree in journalism, MacGillivray and his wife Grace have eight children: Chiara, Mary, Brigid, Sean, Catherine, Joseph, Theresa, and Emily.

What They Are Saying About Mountain MacGillivray...

Tricia Fabbri, Head Coach at Quinnipiac University
"It is rare in this business to get a coach on staff who cares about the program with the same attention to detail that you do. For the past nine years, Mountain has been that coach. We've experienced unprecedented success here during his tenure and he bears a great deal of responsibility for that from the recruitment of next level student-athletes that we've had to their remarkable development as both people and players. I can't overstate what he's meant to the improvement of this program and the impact he's had on my life. I'm proud to have had him as a colleague and privileged to call him a friend."

Barry Kirsch, Longtime Head Girls' Basketball Coach, Archbishop Carroll
"Mountain was a loyal 13-year assistant coach at Archbishop Carroll High School. He was always eager to learn and willing to do whatever it took to make our players successful. He brought intensity and innovation to practice each day and was constantly inspiring the girls to be the best they could be. Mountain and his wife, Grace, along with their seven children, will bring a strong sense of family to La Salle University. The players on the team will be treated as part of his family and will know that he wants them to be successful on the court, in the classroom and in life after basketball. This is a great day for the La Salle community and for Mountain and his family. I am very proud to have worked with him and wish him much success. His many years of working as an assistant have finally paid off and now he can show everyone how good a coach he is."