For Army hockey head coach Brian Riley, West Point has always been home.

“I still pinch myself when I'm introduced as a head coach of the Army hockey team,” Riley said. “To this day, I still can't believe I've ever had this opportunity.”

He grew up at the United States Military Academy. Brian Riley is the son of U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer Jack Riley, who coached Army hockey from 1950 to 1986, culminating in 542 victories, as well as an Olympic gold medal as coach of the 1960 U.S. team.

“Growing up at West Point, I call it fantasyland,” Brian Riley said. “You got to use all the facilities here. You got to be around these amazing cadets. You got to see so many amazing things that happened here at West Point.”

Riley would eventually leave West Point to play college hockey at Brown. After graduation, he joined the family business of becoming a coach. Brian Riley bounced around at different programs but eventually returned to the Army in 1989, to be an assistant coach for his brother Rob Riley, who took over as head coach after their father Jack retired.

“I would have walked home to get the opportunity,” Brian Riley said. “And at the same time, I would have been perfectly happy being an assistant for my brother for my whole coaching career.”

When Rob Riley stepped down in 2004, it opened the door for Brian Riley to continue the Riley head coaching legacy at West Point. During his two-decade career, Brian Riley has been named Atlantic Hockey Association Coach of the Year four times, and amassed more than 245 wins, including the 2008 regular season conference championship.

“Actually, it was the night before that we had clinched at least a tie, and my dad was at the game,” said Brian Riley, on the regular season conference championship. “We were on the road at Sacred Heart, so he was on the bus with us afterward. So that was pretty special.”

But after 21 years as Army’s head coach, Brian Riley will be stepping down after this season. He says it was a bittersweet decision, but the right time. It will also mark the end of the 75-year Riley head coaching dynasty at United States Military Academy.

“Coaching at West Point is the most rewarding and humbling opportunity,” Brian Riley said. “I can't even call it a job because of the people, especially the young men and women that we get to be around every day.”

Current associate head coach Zach McKelvie is set to take over next season. But the book isn’t completely closed on the Riley legacy at Army. Brian’s son Jack Riley, currently an assistant coach, will remain on the staff next year. So the family business continues.

“I know that I will never be able to thank college hockey, but in particular West Point for all that it's given the Riley family in these last 75 years,” Brian Riley said.