Colleen Doherty completed her second season as head coach of the LIU rugby program during the 2019-20 season.
Doherty continued to grow the program during the fall of 2019, leading LIU to two victories before the spring season was canceled due to the COVID-19 virus.
During her first spring at LIU, she mentored four National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) All-Academic team honorees and helped LIU earn two victories over Molloy College and one over the Brown University B team.
During her five year stint as a member of Quinnipiac's coaching staff, the Bobcats won three NIRA national titles in 2015, 2016 and 2017. She worked closely with the attack and defensive structure of the back line, who produced four NIRA All-Americans in 2017-18.
Doherty's experience extends beyond the college ranks; she serves on the board of the New Haven Rugby Football Club along with being the women's sevens head coach and women's 15's associate head coach. She guided the New Haven women's sevens to an Empire Sevens Series Championship in 2018, its first year at the competitive level.
She is a pioneer in the inaugural NCAA Women's Coaches Mentor Program, a member of the Alliance of Women Coaches and a graduate of the NCAA Women Coaches Academy Class 41.
Along with her coaching experience, Doherty also had a storied playing career with the Bobcats. In 2011 she was a member of the inaugural rugby team in the spring and became a four-year starter and captain. She was named Most Valuable Player in 2012-13, leading the team and assists along recording thirty tackles and scoring four tries. During that season she helped Quinnipiac earn a bid to the national tournament in Stanford, California, and win the Tri-State Conference Championship. At the national tournament she helped lead the Bobcats to third-place finish against the University of Buffalo, with their only loss of the season coming against Winona State in the semi-finals. Each year she was on the team she was a recipient of the Bobcat Award for the passion and pride she showed for rugby.
