Former Storm Head Coach Anne Donovan, who led the team to the 2004 WNBA championship, is headed to the college ranks. Seton Hall University announced Monday that Donovan will be the third head coach in program history. While coaching the New York Liberty was something of a homecoming for Donovan, Seton Hall is even closer to where she grew up in Ridgewood, NJ.

Since resigning as the Storm’s head coach and director of player personnel at the end of the 2007 season, Donovan had hinted at interest in moving back to the college game, where she got her start at East Carolina University before moving to the pro ranks with the ABL and ultimately coming to the WNBA. She joined the Liberty as an assistant coach a year ago and was promoted to head coach on an interim basis when Pat Coyle was fired in July, then had the interim tag removed in December.

Donovan will finish out the 2010 season at the helm in New York before beginning her coaching duties for Seton Hall. That means the Liberty’s July 6 visit to KeyArena (on Kids Day) will be Donovan’s last trip back to where she once paced the sidelines for the foreseeable future.

Former Storm coach Anne Donovan was promoted to the role of interim head coach for the New York Liberty today after the Liberty relieved Pat Coyle of her duties. Coyle had been at the helm since 2004, while Donovan was in her first season as an assistant in New York after spending last year concentrating on her role as head coach for the U.S. Olympic team and the previous five years as the Storm’s head coach.

In speaking with the media, Liberty President and General Manager Carol Blazejowski expressed optimism that the coaching change came in time for New York to turn around what has been a disappointing season.

“When we came off a two-point loss last year to advance into the Finals, the expectations were very high for this club,” Blazejowski said. “And our record at the moment isn’t at the .500 mark, so I just felt with a whole half of the season left and perhaps these moves will jumpstart us.”

Though the Liberty is last in the Eastern Conference, the team is just two games out of a playoff spot. Donovan’s chances of seeing improved play in the second half are enhanced by the fact that, in terms of point differential, New York has been much closer to a .500 team than a 6-11 record would indicate. The Liberty’s differential (-1.1 points per game) ranks the team ahead of Detroit and Chicago, both higher in the East standings.

Donovan will make her return to KeyArena next Saturday when the Liberty visits Seattle (7:00 p.m., TIX).