Happy Dobbs enters his seventh season with the Bryant University men's basketball coaching staff and third as an Associate Head Coach in 2017-18, bringing with him a wealth of collegiate basketball coaching knowledge.
Dobbs, a four-year starting guard at Villanova, comes to Smithfield from St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio, where he served as the associate athletic director and assistant basketball coach.
Dobbs has a long history of coaching in the college ranks, including stops at Boston College, Cleveland State and nearby Brown University, where he spent eight years as the Bears' head coach from 1991-99. In his time in Providence, Dobbs coached 10 all-conference selections, three Academic All-Ivy League picks and four eventual Athletic Hall of Fame inductees.
Prior to his first arrival in the Ocean State, Dobbs spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Boston College (1988-91), where he handled the program's international recruiting, served as the team's academic liaison, and designed and implemented player development programs.
Dobbs went to the Eagles after a four-year stint at Dartmouth College, where he began his coaching career in 1984. He remained with the Big Green until 1988, also serving as the school's strength and conditioning coach in addition to his basketball coaching duties.
Upon leaving Brown in 1999, Dobbs spent three years as an assistant at Cleveland State University, where he again was the recruiting coordinator and academic liaison, as well as designing player development programs.
In 2002, Dobbs left Cleveland State for the head coaching job at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, also serving as an assistant athletic director with the Yeomen. Dobbs remained at Oberlin until 2006 when he moved on to St. Edward High School.
"It is great news for our team and the University community to be welcoming Happy Dobbs to Bryant University," said O'Shea. "He brings a wealth of experience and credibility to our program, and his familiarity with Rhode Island and our program is an added plus that will make this transition an easy one for me and my staff. I look forward to Happy helping us reach the very top of the Northeast Conference."
In his four seasons as a starter at Villanova, Dobbs led the Wildcats to four-straight NCAA tournament appearances, including two trips to the Sweet 16 and two into the Elite Eight. Upon graduating, Dobbs was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the eighth round of the 1984 NBA Draft.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Dobbs is a 1984 graduate of Villanova University with a bachelor of arts in business marketing. He and his wife, Karen, have two children, Frankie, an assistant coach for the Bryant men's basketball team, and Alexis, a recent graduate of American University, where she was a standout guard over her four-year career.
