Oct. 12, 2004

by James Zuhlke

His office is the same; his phone number the same. The Pepsi cooler next to the sofa still displays the product's diet soft drink. However, there is something distinctly different about the office in the corner of the Holleder Center directly across from the hockey administrative headquarters that overlooks Howze Field. It is no longer an assistant coach's office. It belongs to Army head coach Brian Riley.

Riley arrived at his corner office July 29 preparing for what he thought would be just another picturesque summer day along the banks of the Hudson River until his brother Rob, head coach of the Army Black Knights for the past 18 winters, strolled into his office and delivered the news that both stunned and excited his younger sibling in an instant.

"Rob walked into my office and said he was headed down to talk to Rick (Greenspan, former athletic director at the U.S. Military Academy). I honestly didn't know that he was leaving."

There was suddenly a sparkle in Riley's eyes. This was the opportunity of a lifetime and the biggest reason that Brian had worked hand-in-hand, yet behind the scenes, with his brother for 14 of the past 16 years. Only a highly successful two-year stint as head coach at Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep School (1996-98) in Faribault, Minn., disrupted the younger Riley's loyal coaching tenure alongside his older brother at the Academy.

But now, seven years after Brian's return to West Point from Minnesota, Rob's stunning announcement had created an an opportunity that Brian could not let slip by. Riley quickly collected a short list of names for references and tightened up his resume. But was there really any doubt in the minds of the West Point community who would be the hockey team's next head coach? Army hockey coached by somebody other than a Riley?

When Greenspan named Brian Riley the 16th head coach in Army hockey history, the pulse of Highland Falls outside Thayer Gate, where Brian and his wife, Marybeth, both grew up and still call home today, pounded like a child's heart on Christmas Day.

Surely, ESPN didn't have Riley in mind when it delved into the world of reality TV, but you would have a hard time convincing the Black Knights' newest hockey coach of that.

"You often hear people talk about having their dream job," Riley said. "But I can truly say that this is the only head coaching position I ever wanted."

The road ahead is arduous. Riley must integrate 15 freshmen into a cast of returning players that has experienced just one winning season in the last five. Army's icemen are coming off a 12-18-3 campaign in 2003-04 that saw the Black Knights drop eight of their last nine games, including a first-round playoff game at home. Though the task at hand is challenging, Riley has instilled confidence in his young charges and won over their utmost respect in just a very short time at the helm.

"Everybody looks up to Coach Bri," said senior co-captain Chad Fifield. "His intensity and dedication come through in all that he says and does. You know he means what he says and is willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done."

Riley becomes the third successive member of his family to stand behind the Black Knights' bench. The "First Family" of college hockey's coaching fraternity has governed Army's on-ice fortunes since legendary Hall of Famer Jack Riley, Brian's father, first took control of the program in 1951. When Jack stepped down some 36 years later, he handed over the Black Knights' reins to his son, Rob. Together, Jack and Rob Riley are the all-time winningest father-son combination in college hockey history, racking up a remarkable 848 victories between them.

That is the tradition and history staring Brian Riley straight in the face as he embarks upon his first season as a college hockey head coach. And so the torch is passed from brother to brother.

Now, it is Brian's turn to add to his family's legacy of coaching excellence. While Brian shares the recognizable surname first made famous by his father, don't expect his ascension to Army's top hockey post to change his daily approach.

He prefers to run his administration from the same unassuming corner office he occupied as an assistant under his brother, leaving the spacious suite located down the hall for the athletic intern. It's part of Brian's "down-to-earth" approach to coaching.

"I like it up here," Riley explains of his comfortable office surroundings. "I can keep an eye on all that happens. I'm closer to the players, to my assistants and to the rink. I felt that being down the hall was just too isolated."

Army opened its 102nd season of intercollegiate hockey this past weekend by presenting Riley with a pair of wins over visiting Ryerson. The legacies of Army hockey and the Riley lineage have been handed to Brian. The Academy has committed the future of its very proud hockey program to him.