For coach Brian Riley, the 2024-25 season is a bittersweet one. This is the final season that Riley will be behind the bench as the head men’s hockey coach at Army West Point, a place he has spent the vast majority of his life.

Between Brian, his father Jack and brother Rob, the Riley family has led the hockey program at the United States Military Academy for the past 75 years, cementing a legacy of loyalty, dedication, and success.

As Coach Riley navigates his final season, he reflects back on his life at West Point in Atlantic Hockey America’s “Building Champions” feature story, presented by JLG Architects.

Growing up at West Point

Jack Riley, Brian’s dad, was the head coach at Army when Brian was born. So, Brian and his siblings grew up at West Point, creating a special childhood that helped shape Brian into who he is today.

"Having the opportunity to grow up at West Point helped create what I see as one of the best childhoods that anyone could possibly ever have," Riley said. "We got to be around the cadets all the time. They were our heroes, and it was amazing.”

As children of a hockey coach, Brian and his siblings loved being around their dad and the game of hockey.

"We lived on the ice," Riley said. "The best was when dad would ask us if we wanted to go on road trips with the team. We loved that."

"We were raised in a very close-knit family, and looking back, growing up at West Point with my family shaped me as a person and as a coach."

"I wanted to coach"

Home from Brown University on spring break of his senior year, Riley distinctly remembers a conversation he had with his mom and dad sitting around the kitchen table.

"My mom asked me what I wanted to do after graduation. I probably disappointed her because at that point she was probably hoping for a doctor or a lawyer, but I quickly responded that I wanted to coach."

In that same conversation at the dinner table, Jack left Brian with one bit of advice that has stuck with him throughout his coaching career. "Make sure you show your players that you care for them more as people than as hockey players, and if you do that, you will create the power of one. Once you create this power of one, you can overcome and obstacle and climb any mountain together."

Brian says that his father's advice on that day became his foundation for coaching.

Hailing from Boston, Jack Riley was a stand-out hockey player at Dartmouth College, a member of the 1948 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team at St. Mortiz, Switzerland, a player-coach of the 1949 U.S. National Team in Stockholm, Sweden, and coached the 1960 U.S. Olympic Team to a gold medal.

Jack served as the head hockey coach at Army from 1950-1986. What originally began as a one-year contract turned into a 36-year Hall of Fame career that culminated in 542 victories.
 

Coaching with Rob

When Jack retired from coaching in 1986, the reins of the Army program then went to Brian’s brother, Rob. Brian joined Rob’s staff as an assistant coach in 1989, and the two brothers got to share a hockey experience of coaching side-by-side on a daily basis.
 
“To experience the highs and the lows together was really rewarding. We had a lot of really good memories together,” Brian said. “If I was still an assistant for my brother right now, I would have had a great career.”
 
In total, Rob racked up 306 wins over 18 years at the helm of the Army program. Brian was an assistant for 14 of those seasons, and he is extremely grateful for the opportunity to work with his brother.
 
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my brother Rob.”
 

Getting the Head Coaching Job

Following 14 years as an assistant to his brother Rob and a lifetime of hockey education from his father Jack, Brian got the opportunity to continue the Riley family legacy as the head coach at West Point in 2004.
 
Riley recalls getting that opportunity vividly. “After Rob told the AD that he was going to retire, the AD at the time, Rick Greenspan, asked me if I had an interest in becoming the head coach, and I said absolutely.”
 
Greenspan then told Brian to come to his house at six o’clock the next day to chat about the situation further. “I remember thinking ‘oh my god, does he mean six in the morning or six at night?’”
 
“So I guessed six in the morning, and I guess that was good because if it was the wrong time I probably wouldn’t be sitting here today.”
 
“We had a good conversation that morning, and then I had to drive up to Boston with my brother Rob. On the way back I told him I had a message from Rick Greenspan, and he told me to call him. So I called Rick and he asked if I wanted the job. I said absolutely I do.”
 
Riley remembers driving home and telling his wife and kids the news. “That’s one of those moments you never forget.”
 
Currently in his 21st season as head coach, Riley doesn’t take anything for granted. “To have the opportunity to follow in my dad’s footsteps is something that I never imagined.”
 
“I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would have the opportunity to be the head coach at West Point,” Riley said. “To this day, when people introduce me as the head coach at Army, I’m like, really? Me? I’m the head coach?”
 

Enjoying Every Moment

Riley is making sure to enjoy every moment of the 2024-25 season.
 
“Everything I do, in the back of my mind I’m thinking this is the last time. It just kinda hits me, I’ll be going to these rinks for the last time, and some places I’ve been to for the last time and didn’t realize it.”
 
“I’m just trying to enjoy every single moment. Sometimes the years and seasons can drag on, but I have a feeling that this season is going to go faster than any other season.”
 
Riley knows that coaching at Army isn’t just another college coaching job. “I used to always wonder, why does dad stay at West Point?”
 
“But now having sat where he sat, I know why he stayed. The opportunity to be around cadets every day, and to know that you play a small role in helping to shape and develop them to lead this nation’s sons and daughters makes this the most rewarding and humbling opportunity.”
 
A Coaching Family

Riley’s three children, Jack, Danielle, and Brendan, all got the chance to grow up at West Point, just like their father. “I think that helped shape who they are today,” Riley said.
 
Jack and Brendan have followed in their father’s footsteps and are now also coaching college hockey. Jack is an assistant at Army with his father, and Brendan is an assistant at AIC.
 
Starting in 2018, the Jack Riley Trophy has been given to the winners of the Atlantic Hockey postseason tournament. AIC won the tournament in 2022, and Brian got to watch his son hoist the trophy named after his father.
 
“One of my proudest moments was seeing Brendan host the Jack Riley Trophy when AIC won it a few years ago. That was special.”
 
With two sons in coaching, Riley hopes that Jack and Brendan get as much out of the profession as he did.
 
“I hope Jack and Brendan get as much out of hockey as I did the past 40 years. I could never repay West Point or the sport of hockey for what both of them have given me. I hope Jack and Brendan are able to say the same thing when they are in a position to retire from coaching.”
 
Building Champions

When it comes to the mentality of building champions, Riley again emphasizes the importance of caring for players more as people.
 
“The most important thing is showing your players that you care more for them as people. If you can do that as a coach, your players will do anything for you.”
 
Riley doesn’t have many rules as a coach, but the two that he does include doing the right thing and being a good person.
 
“Through college hockey, we as coaches can help to inspire young people to be good people and be difference-makers in the world that we all live in. I want to help make players champions in life, and that’s why what we get to do is so rewarding and humbling.”
 
“I’ve been in a coaching role at West Point for over 30 years as an assistant and head coach. When you love what you do, and when you can’t wait to come in before your feet hit the ground every day, it’s just really rewarding and I consider myself really lucky to have been able to do this for so many years.”
 
Riley’s profound impact is evident in the many players who have played for him.
 
Michael Sacco, the team’s current captain, says "The impact Coach Riley has had on the Army Hockey program is immeasurable. Most importantly, his loyalty and dedication to pushing players to achieve the highest levels of success on and off the ice are his most notable attributes. Although this is his last year behind the bench, his impact will be felt through the hockey world for generations to come. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to attend West Point, Coach!"


 
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