Former Boston College basketball star Bill Donovan, the father of Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan, has died. He was 85.
Bill died Saturday in Gainesville, Florida, according to his online obituary shared by Williams-Thomas Funeral Home. No cause of death or further details were provided.
Born Oct. 26, 1940, in Queens, New York, Donovan played college basketball at Boston College, where he was a three-year starter for the Eagles and served as team captain during his senior season. He was the Eagles’ third all-time leading scorer with 1,012 career points when he graduated from BC in 1962.
After college, Donovan entered the U.S. Army as a Second Lieutenant and received an honorable discharge as a First Lieutenant, according to his obituary.
Donovan later became a fixture at the University of Florida, where Billy won two national championships as head coach from 1996-2015. He was often on the Gators’ bench courtside and traveled to road games, according to The Gainesville Sun.
“He had such great awareness of the moment,” said Stetson head basketball coach Donnie Jones, who served as an assistant under Billy at Florida, said of the elder Donovan. “It was always an encouragement, or he gave a perspective that was always encouraging, or two or three good things if he did make a comment in passing. But it was always a happy spirit it was always an encouraging spirit.”
Donovan was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.
Donovan is survived by his wife, Joan, and their three children, Billy, Susan and Karen.