It’s a difficult position for Buffalo State interim head softball coach Marie Curran to be in.
Her friend and fellow coach, Bengals legend Sandra Hollander, passed away in April, leaving behind a
head coaching position that she filled for the previous 24 years.
Curran, despite tackling the rigors of academia in her pursuit of a Ph.D. in educational leadership and
policy from the University at Buffalo, has assumed the head-coaching responsibilities for the Bengals.
“I don’t know really know where we would if she wasn’t there,” senior shortstop Kyrstin Lekki
said. “She’s getting her Ph.D., the woman is getting her doctorate, and yet she’s still there more than the
players are. It’s very impressive.”
Curran has been a part of the Bengals coaching staff since the fall of 2010, bringing with her 13 years of
Division I coaching experience. She was a Division III softball player for Trenton State College – now The
College of New Jersey – where she helped her teams to NCAA Division III championships in 1989 and
1992 and was a part of national runner-up teams in 1990 and 1993.
As a senior catcher, Curran won Division III All-American honors and was crowned the New Jersey
Athletic Conference player of the year.
After college, she wasted no time in stepping into a coaching role. The Chester, N.Y. native served as an
assistant for two years at Northern Illinois University and Creighton University. She credits the coaches
she worked under, Brent Vigness at Creighton and Donna Martin at NIU, for helping to shape her
coaching philosophy.
“Both coaches that I worked for were phenomenal,” Curran said. “I learned so much about the sport
under them.”
At NIU, Curran met former UB associate athletic director Nan Harvey. Eventually, Curran would
interview for and land the head coaching job for the first Division I softball program in UB’s history. She
led the Bulls from 1999-2008, before leaving the program.
“I took some time off to get my head back in the right place with sports. Sandy (Hollander) is why I got
back into coaching,” Curran said.
Curran and Hollander had known each other for years prior to Curran joining Buffalo State’s coaching
staff. In 1990, a Hollander-coached Bengals team played against a Trenton State team that Curran
played for in a regional’s matchup. Additionally, Curran noted that there wasn’t a more welcoming
person in Western New York than Hollander when she hired by UB.
“She opened up her doors and helped me understand Western New York and softball in the area,”
Curran said. “It was wonderful. She was great to me from day one.”
Hollander’s openness and friendship weighed heavily in Curran’s decision to join her staff when an
assistant position became available.
“It was nice in the sense that I got to coach with my friend. She was great to talk softball with. Great
conversations, great camaraderie,” Curran said. “That’s how it is with our staff. Sandy formed her staff
so that all of the pieces fit into the puzzle.”
According to Buffalo State athletic director Jerry Boyes, when Hollander passed away in early April,
Curran was the logical choice to assume the interim responsibilities as head coach.
“When something like that happens in the season, you want to have a sense of normalcy in the
program,” Boyes noted. “You want to keep the structure; the familiarity. She has head coaching
experience and was the obvious choice to take over.”
Taking over for Hollander is no easy task. In addition to being a storied coach, Hollander, a player’s
coach, had been revered by many as a role model and a mentor. Boyes told Curran that she has to be
her own coach – she can’t replicate Hollander’s style, nor should that be expected of her.
“One of the things that I mentioned to Coach Curran was that she has to be Coach Curran,” Boyes
said. “She worked for Sandy for two years, but she can’t be Sandy. That would be fake. She has to coach
the way that she knows how to coach and let everything else take care of itself.”
But what is that ‘Coach Curran’ philosophy that Boyes alluded to?
“I love defense. I’m a firm believer in the old school saying, ‘defense wins championships,'” Curran
said. “On defense, if you play well together, your pitching staff can relax and do their job. Then offense
is just fun.”
“That definitely comes from my college coach (Dr. June Walker). We were defensive machines and then
we were allowed to have fun when we hit.”
Since taking over, Curran has guided the Bengals to a 12-12 record, including 7-7 in SUNYAC play (the
team is 20-18 overall, 10-8 in SUNYAC play.) The team placed fourth in the SUNYAC and clinched a
playoff berth – impressive feats considering the events that transpired early in the season.
Boyes is pleased with how she has performed as head coach.
“Coach Curran has done a remarkable job,” he said. “The way she works with the players and how the
players have reacted to her, and how she has dealt with the situation stand out.”
Taking over the position entailed increasing an already heavy workload for Curran. Boyes said that she’s
adjusted to the workload for the betterment of Buffalo State softball.
“Coach Curran has made some sacrifices in her structured life, because she’s in the doctorate program
at the University at Buffalo,” Boyes said. “She’s completing her coursework right now, but she was able
to work with her professors to do what is necessary to be the head coach here.”
Regarding the future of the head coaching position, Boyes said that the athletics department hasn’t
even begun preliminary discussions about a replacement. Curran agrees that that is the best approach –
their focus should be on the ongoing season.
“I’m one of those people who think, at the end of the season, that’s when things will change,” Curran
said. “What direction they’re going to change, I have no idea.”
As far as her interest in having the interim label removed from her title and returning as head coach
next year, Curran had one thing to say.
“I’m privileged to coach kids that really do bleed black and orange. I love being here.”
Tom Gallagher can be reached by email at Gallagher.record@live.com.