Southern Connecticut State University Athletics

Michael Papale was named an assistant men's basketball coach at Southern Connecticut State University in July, 2015 and enters his second season in this role in 2016-17.

Papale's first season the Owls was a highly successful one on and off the court. The Owls finished with a 24-8 record and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. SCSU also won the Northeast-10 Conference's Southwest Division title. The team was ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation during the year.

On the individual front, Desmond Williams and Michael Mallory both collected All-America honors, with Williams being tabbed as the Regional, ECAC and Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year. Austin Carter was also named the NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year, while Joey Wallace was named to the All-Rookie Team.

The team was also recognized for its work in the classroom by the NABC with its Team Academic Award, while five student-athletes were named to the NABC Honors Court.

Papale, a native of Wallingford, Conn., spent three seasons as the Director of Basketball Operations working alongside Burrell at Quinnipiac University. In total, Papale was a part of the Quinnipiac program for seven years, including a four-year run from 2007-11 as a student manager.
 
He spent the 2011-12 campaign as an assistant coach at UMass-Lowell and helped the River Hawks reach the NCAA Tournament. He took part in all facets of the program including recruiting, scouting, player development, film exchange, weight training and academic support.
 
Prior to coaching at UMass Lowell, Papale coached at several levels in the AAU circuit with both the Central Connecticut Hoop Stars and the New England Playaz. He served as the head coach for Central Connecticut’s U-17 team in 2010 and helped lead it to a 35-14 record and a fifth-place showing at the AAU National Championship.

While assisting with the New England Playaz AAU program, Papale helped coach players various Division I programs including Arizona, Ole Miss, Bryant, Boston University and Wright State.

Papale was a three-year varsity player and McDonald’s All-America nominee at Sheehan High and moved into a student assistant role as a senior after having his playing career cut short due to a heart condition.

He is the President and founder of A Heartbeat Foundation, a non-profit organization designed to raise money to purchase and donate AED devices and to raise money for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy research.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Quinnipiac.