Mihalich leaves Niagara for Hofstra job
Hofstra University officiallly named Joe Mihalich as its basketball coach on Wednesday.
Mihalich, 56, agreed to a six-year contract, according to the university.
"Joe Mihalich has been a winner at every stop in his highly successful career," Hofstra athletic director Jeff Hathaway said. "He has worked his way up the ladder through hard work and dedication, and his work ethic has prepared him to lead our program. Hofstra University is fortunate to land such a dynamic educator, coach and leader."
Mihalich has the most basketball coaching wins the history of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. In 15 years at Niagara, he finished with a 265-203 record and led the Purple Eagles to two NCAA tournament berths. Mihalich was named the MAAC coach of the year this year after guiding Niagara to the conference regular-season title.
He replaces Mo Cassara, who was fired after three seasons. Hofstra has not reached the NCAA tournament since 2001 and went 7-25 this season. Off the court, the program was hurt this year when six players were involved in off-court incidents.
"I'm optimistic and realistic. That's the way you have to be," Mihalich told CBSSports.com. "I know what the challenges are. It's going to be a lot of work, and no one is going to put a timetable on it. We're ground zero, we have to build it one brick at time."
But, he said, "This is a place where you can win."
