About Mike Schafer

Mike Schafer was the men's ice hockey coach at Cornell University. He graduated from Cornell in 1986 with a degree in business management after leading the team to its first conference tournament championship in six years. Schafer retired as a player after his senior season and immediately became an assistant with the Big Red. Schafer left his alma mater after the 1989–90 season, taking a similar position with the Western Michigan Broncos of the WCHA. Five years later, after a downturn in the program that saw three consecutive losing seasons (including back-to-back single digit-win years) Cornell replaced Brian McCutcheon with Schafer as head coach. Schafer quickly returned the Big Red to prominence, winning the ECAC Hockey conference tournament his first two seasons back in Ithaca. Schafer has remained with Cornell ever since, becoming the longest tenured and the winningest coach in team history.

On June 13, 2024 Schafer announced that he would retire at the conclusion of the 2024-2025 hockey season.