Michael McDonald enters his 12th season as the head coach of the Clark University rowing program in the 2024-25 season, putting the rowing program on a track of consistent progress in both athletic achievement and academic success.
In the 2023-24 season, the scarlet and white placed fifth overall at the NEWMAC Championships and 16th at the legendary Head of the Charles. Katie Woods and Anna Tinklenberg were named to the All-NEWMAC Team.
McDonald and the Cougars put together a historic season in 2022-23 as they posted a 13th place finish at the Head of the Charles, won the San Diego Classic, and saw both the V8 and 2V8 record program record times.
A veteran coach with more than 24 years of experience, McDonald has coached at several different levels including at United States National Development Camps and also at the Division I college level.
McDonald joined Clark after a two-year stint as the head coach of the men’s program at the University of Rhode Island. While at URI, he led the Rams to a grand final appearance at New England Rowing Championships (NERC) and top-ten performances at the Head of the Charles Regatta and at the American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA) National Championship. He has held numerous other coaching positions from Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. to serving head sculling coach and regatta director for the Quinsigamond Rowing Association in Worcester, Mass.
For more than a decade McDonald spent time working at NEWMAC foes Wellesley College and WPI. While with the Blue he served as the novice coach and the Director of the Seven Sisters Regatta. During his time with the Engineers, he worked on both the men’s and women’s sides while also helping the men’s team transition from a club to a varsity sport. Additionally, McDonald was head coach at St. John's Shrewsbury from 2007 to 2009 where he helped produce several collegiate student-athletes.
McDonald is a 1997 graduate of Worcester State University where he earned his Bachelor of Business Administration and Accounting.
