“It’s hard to walk away from something you love, but I felt it was the right time,” said Shanahan. “I am not sure if the enormity has truly hit me yet because I know there will be so much I will miss, but when you have to talk yourself into doing something you love to do, it’s a signal to step away, and I felt this was the right choice right now for myself, my family, the school, and most of all, the women on the team. Fifteen years ago if someone would have told me I would have been a collegiate coach for ten years, no one would have laughed harder than me, and to step away now seems surreal. I don’t think I am done by any stretch, it was just the right time for a break. Everyone associated with the school has done everything to welcome me and make me feel at home and support me and so I never wanted to give less than everything I had to the job, and so it was the right time to step aside.”
Shanahan began his collegiate coaching career with CSI in 2007-08 under Head Coach Marguerite Moran, coinciding with his daughter, Allie, also joining the squad as a freshman that same season. The Dolphins immediately posted a 21-8 season and the following year the team finished 23-6 en route to the College’s first and only ECAC Championship in the sport. In 2012-13, Shanahan took over as head coach following the departure of Moran, and he led the team to the first of four-straight CUNYAC semifinal appearances and ECAC Tournament berths.
In 2016-17, while winning CUNYAC Coach of the Year honors, Shanahan led the Dolphins to a 22-7 finish and the College’s first CUNYAC Championship in 12 years thanks to a 53-42 win over Brooklyn College in the title game. The next weekend, CSI would make their fifth trip to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament, achieving the destination for the first time since the 2004-05 season. CSI’s latest installment in 2017-18 finished with a CUNYAC Finals appearance and a 21-6 overall record. In Shanahan’s six seasons as head coach, a total of seven CSI single-season and career individual and team records have been set.
“I’ve been very fortunate,” said Shanahan. “The kids do the hard part. They put the ball in the net, set the screens, run the floor, and I am so grateful for the success we’ve had. What I am most proud of, however, is that our kids graduate. It’s the one thing we stress all the time and our team buys into that. I could not have asked for more effort from them than what they did for me on the court, but more importantly, in the classroom.”
While Shanahan has not ruled out coaching in the future, he does intend to take a break from the sidelines, enjoying more time with his family away from the court and enjoying the game from a different perspective. His daughter joined him on the sidelines in time for the 2017-18 season, while his niece, Victoria Gallinaro, was a four-year standout for the team while serving as an assistant coach the past two years. Shanahan’s 116 wins as head coach are second only to Moran’s 253. His winning percentage of .682, however, is tops of all coaches who have spend five or more seasons at the helm.
“How many fathers get a chance to coach their daughter and then coach with them along with my niece?” he said. “I’ve been blessed. The relationships we forge, from the administration, the custodians, the security personnel at the front gate, the fellow coaches and support staff, my assistants, they carry the entire program and help us achieve what we have. They are all friends and family before colleagues. It’s been a fabulous place to work. I am truly heartbroken to leave, but I know it is for the right reasons.”
CSI Director of Athletics Charles Gomes spoke glowingly of Shanahan, recognizing the void he will leave upon exit.
“It’s been a pleasure for me to work with Tim the past five seasons. He is a passionate coach and always made the academic needs of student-athletes his highest priority,” he said. “His accomplishments on the floor during his tenure speak for themselves but I will always think of him as a coach who truly cared about his student-athletes off the court, I can’t thank him enough for his time at the College of Staten Island.”
Shanahan’s first official foray into the coaching ranks was in 2004, when he became an assistant boy’s high school basketball coach at Highland Park High School in Highland Park, New Jersey, and then across the Verrazano in Brooklyn, at New Utrecht High School. Right before coming to CSI as an assistant in 2007, Shanahan served as citywide Major of Family Court for the City of New York for 21 years.
The search for a replacement will begin immediately at the College. The CSI women’s basketball season officially starts on October 15 with preseason practice and officially commences play on November 8.
