UMass Lowell Athletics

A name synonymous not only with UMass Lowell, but also New England ice hockey, Billy Riley came to Lowell Technological Institute in 1969 and took over a program in its literal infancy: the team practiced outdoors and didn't play more than 15 games in the season.

It was several years, and three rinks, before the team could declare a home, which it did with the Billerica Forum in the mid-1970s. Still there was no heat, no hot water

Within 10 years of Riley's arrival, however, the whole country knew about ULowell hockey.

Riley's impact on the hockey program continues to be immeasurable. He guided the team to NCAA Championships in 1979, 1981 and 1982. Sensing the need to bring it to a new level, he was instrumental in bringing the program to NCAA Division I in 1983 and Hockey East as a charter member in 1984.

During his tenure, Riley coached 27 players drafted by NHL teams; nine All-Americans, two Hobey Baker Award winners and an Olympian. He compiled a won-loss record of 363-270-22 (.554).

Riley took over a team which went 4-9-0 in 1968-69 and turned it into an 11-6-0 winner a year later. Two years later, he had the Chiefs in the Eastern College Athletic Association (ECAC) Tournament.

His teams in the 1970s progressed steadily, winning 17 games in 1976-77 and 1977-78 before going 27-6-0 and winning the first of three NCAA Division II championships in the next four years. From 1978-83, Riley's teams went a combined 147-24, peaking with a school-record 31 victories in 1981-82.

The next step for ULowell was Division I, which the chiefs entered in 1983. After some growing pains, Riley guided the Chiefs to the NCAA Tournament in only five seasons (1988).

After stepping down from the coaching ranks in 1991, Riley served in various capacities within the UMass Lowell Department of Athletics, including associate director of athletics (served simultaneously while coaching) and coordinator of events.

He was also instrumental in hiring athletic staff, including Don Doucette, who guided the 1986-87 men's basketball team to the NCAA Championship; and Duke Diaz, who led the men's soccer team to regional prominence in the early 1980s.

Riley retired from the University in 2008, but he remains omnipresent at the University. When the ice hockey team captured the 2013 Hockey East Tournament Championship, they made sure Riley received his victory lap on the ice with the Lamoriello Trophy.

Riley is a native of Medford, Mass., and graduated from Boston University in 1968 with a degree in physical education. He also earned a master's degree in physical education in 1972 from BU and completed the coursework for his doctorate in sports psychology in 1981.

He was a three-year player under coach Jack Kelley and helped the Terriers to the NCAA Tournament semifinal in 1966, losing to eventual NCAA Champion Michigan State; and the NCAA Championship game in 1967, where they fell to a Ken Dryden-led Cornell University. The Terriers enjoyed an undefeated regular season in 1967.

Inducted into the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame with his late father, Billy, Sr., Riley is the father of three grown children. His son, Bill, Jr., is the head hockey coach at The Groton School while daughter Jill (Bouley), a 1992 graduate of UMass Lowell, is employed by Enzymatics, Inc., in Beverly, Mass. Daughter Kristy (Moulton) is a school social worker for the City of Lowell.

Riley lives in Chelmsford, Mass.