William & Mary Athletics

Dane Fischer was named the 31st head coach in Tribe men’s basketball history on April 2, 2019 and served in the position for five seasons through 2023-24. 
 
During his time in Williamsburg, Fischer-coached players have earned a CAA Player of the Year, a CAA Defensive Player of the Year, a CAA Rookie of the Year, three All-CAA selections, three CAA All-Rookie Team choices and four CAA All-Defensive Team picks. In two of his four seasons, the Tribe had two of the five players selected to the league’s top defensive team.

In 2022-23, Fischer led the Tribe to a 7.5-game improvement, finishing with 13 wins and in eight-place in the CAA behind seven wins. W&M's improvement ranked second in the CAA and among the top-30 nationally.

With modest expectations entering the 2019-20, Fischer, a 17-year coaching veteran, made an immediate impact, leading the Tribe to its best regular season in 70 years and culminated it with a number of coach of the year accolades.  W&M's 21 wins in 2019-20 rank fourth in program history and were the second-most for a rookie head coach in the country. After W&M was picked seventh in the preseason Colonial Athletic Association poll, he led the Tribe to a second-place finish during the regular season in his first season as a head coach. Fischer guided W&M to school record-tying totals in conference wins (13) and road wins (10).
 
For his efforts, he took home Coach of the Year honors from the CAA, NABC District 10 and Virginia Sports Information Directors. He was also a finalist for a pair of National Coach of the Year awards, including the Hugh Durham Award, presented annually to the top mid-major coach in Division I college basketball, and the Joe B. Hall Award, which is presented annually to first-year head coach in Division I.
 
Under his tutelage, Nathan Knight enjoyed arguably the best in William & Mary history. He was named the Lou Henson National Mid-Major Player of the Year Award by CollegeInsider.com and took home the nation's top mid-major player by Basketball Times as well. Knight, who earned Lute Olsen All-American and Lefty Driesell Defensive All-American, became just the second player in CAA history to win both the league’s player and defensive player of the year honors in the same season. He was selected to a number of national player of the year watch lists, including USBWA Oscar Robertson Trophy and Naismith Trophy Men's Player of the Year Midseason Watch List. Knight was named a top-5 finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award as well as one of 10 finalists and eventually and All-American by the Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes excellence in community, classroom, character and competition.
 
Knight went on to sign a contract with the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA and has played three seasons in the league, including the last two with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Along with Knight, Andy Van Vliet, who earned All-CAA honors in 2020, has played three seasons professionally in Europe along with playing for the Belgium National Team.
 
After being introduced as head coach, Fischer laid out the program’s core values and spent time discussing and in-graining them into his student-athletes and staff. The Tribe’s five core values are trust, hard work, communication, toughness and focus.
 
Fischer has experience in turning multiple programs into winners. He is regarded as a tireless recruiter, an elite basketball tactician, and one of the rising stars in the coaching business. During his career as an assistant coach, he helped teams earn seven post-season appearances, six regular-season conference championships, three NCAA Tournament bids, three conference tournament crowns, two National Invitation Tournament berths and an NCAA Division III National Runner-up finish.
 
Prior to becoming the head coach at W&M, Fischer spent four seasons on head coach Dave Paulsen's staff in leading a turnaround of the George Mason program. In the two years prior to Fischer’s arrival in Fairfax and the school’s first two in the Atlantic 10, the Patriots won just 20 total games with a 32.3 winning % and eight A-10 victories. In his final two seasons, Mason finished in the top five of an NCAA Tournament multi-bid league, including going 11-7 in league play in 2018-19. In Fischer’s second season with George Mason, the Patriots enjoyed one of the top turnarounds in the country, improving eight games over the previous year to win 20 games in 2016-17.
 
During his time at Mason, Fischer displayed his skills as a recruiter and coach, including serving as the lead recruiter for All-Atlantic 10 player Otis Livingston II. Livingston II finished his Mason career ranked fourth in program history in both scoring and assists, while starting program-record 132 games. In two of the last three seasons, the Atlantic 10 Conference’s Most Improved Player came from the Patriots in Justin Kier (2018-19) and Marquise Moore (2016-17). Both players earned all-league honors as well.
 
Fischer won at each of his previous stops as an assistant as well. He helped lead Williams College to the NCAA Division III Championship Game and 30 wins in 2003-04, before heading to Rider University and aiding the Broncos in a school-record 23 wins and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular season crown in 2007-08. At Bucknell University, Fischer served as the program’s associate head coach and helped lead the Bison to four regular season championships in the Patriot League and two NCAA Tournament appearances. Most recently, he helped guide George Mason to the program’s best Atlantic 10 finish in back-to-back seasons, including 11 conference victories last season.
 
Serving as the recruiting coordinator, Fischer landed the most successful classes in program history at both Bucknell and Rider. A strong evaluator and developer of talent, Fischer helped both Jason Thompson (Rider) and Mike Muscala (Bucknell) get drafted into the NBA and play extended careers at the highest level. Thompson was an NBA Lottery pick who spent nine seasons in the league after being selected 12th overall by the Sacramento Kings in 2008. Muscala, a Fischer recruit, was a two-time Patriot League Player of the Year and became the first Bucknell student-athlete to play in the NBA. He was a second-round selection in 2013 and is currently a seven-year NBA veteran.

At Bucknell, Fischer helped Paulsen revitalize a program that finished second-to-last place the year before the staff’s arrival into a perennial conference champion and postseason participant. Over four of his final five seasons in Lewisburg, the Bison advanced to four national postseason tournaments. Bucknell won Patriot League regular season titles in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015. The Bison went on to win the conference tournament in 2011 and 2013 to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Bucknell twice took part in the NIT during Fischer’s tenure, including an opening-round road upset at the University of Arizona in 2012.
 
During his time at Bucknell, Fischer brought in a total of 14 All-Patriot League selections, including eight on the first team and five all-rookie honorees. He recruited three Patriot League Players of the Year in Nana Foulland, Cameron Ayers, and Muscala, who finished his career as Bucknell’s all-time leading scorer. Not only did Bucknell succeed on the court with Fischer on staff, but in the classroom as well. The program claimed six Academic All-Patriot League spots, four Capital One Academic All-District selections, and one Academic All-American. 
 
Fischer’s first stop as a Division I assistant coach came at Rider, where he helped turn the Broncs into a winner during his three seasons. As the program’s recruiting coordinator, Fischer recruited three all-conference and two all-rookie performers. His 2011 class graduated with the most career wins in program history.

Fischer’s first coaching stint came as an assistant for Paulsen at Williams College. In his two seasons, the Ephs went 46-11 and finished as the NCAA Division III National Runner-up in 2004.  Fischer was also the head coach of the junior varsity program in 2003-04.

During his playing days at Ithaca College, Fischer was a two-time team captain and graduated ranked among the top-10 in program history in career assists and steals. He was a three-year starting point guard and helped lead the Bombers to a berth in the NCAA Tournament and an ECAC Upstate New York Championship. Fischer was voted team MVP his senior year. A native of Minnesota, he graduated in 2002 with a degree in business administration and a minor in economics.

Fischer is married to the former Chelsea Chowning, who was a women’s basketball Academic All-American at the University of Kentucky, where she graduated with her doctorate from UK’s College of Pharmacy.  The couple has two children, a daughter Camryn and a son Bennett.
 
As part of the 2021 Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers T-Shirt Challenge, Fischer and his wife, Chelsea, helped W&M rank fifth in t-shirts sold, raising money for the American Cancer Society and childhood cancer research.