Joe Mihalich
Joe Mihalich (born August 29, 1956)
Current team: Special assistant to the head coach
Current team: La Salle Explorers (Head coach: Fran Dunphy)
Current conference: Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10)
Teams coached: Niagara Purple Eagles, Hofstra Pride
Niagara record: 265-203 (.566)
Hofstra record: 141-92 (.605)
Overall record: 406-295 (.579)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 2 (2005, 2007)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 5 (2004, 2009, 2013, 2016, 2019)
- CBI Appearances: 1 (2015)
- CAA Regular Season Champion: 3 (2016, 2019, 2020)
- MAAC Regular Season Champion: 4 (1999, 2001, 2005, 2013)
- CAA Tournament Champion: 1 (2020)
- MAAC Tournament Champion: 2 (2005, 2007)
Awards:
- Skip Prosser Man of the Year: 1 (2013)
- CAA Coach of the Year: 1 (2019)
- MAAC Coach of the Year: 3 (1999, 2005, 2013)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2022-present | La Salle (special asst) |
| 2013-2020 | Hofstra |
| 1998-2013 | Niagara |
| 1981-1998 | La Salle (asst) |
Joe Mihalich Facts
- Joseph Anthony Mihalich
- Born August 29, 1956
- Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Alma Mater: La Salle University (BS, 1978) / Temple University (M.Ed, 1990)
- Born in Washington DC and raised in Philly, Mihalich played at nearby La Salle for head coach Paul Westhead
- Started coaching right after graduation as an assistant at the renowned DeMatha Catholic HS in Hyattsville, MD
- Returned to La Salle in 1981 and spent the next 18 seasons as an assistant there, first under Lefty Ervin and then Speedy Morris
- Took over the Niagara program as head coach in 1998, winning the MAAC regular season title in his first season
- Won 265 games in fifteen seasons at Niagara, leading the Purple Eagles to two NCAA Tournaments and three NITs
- Left the job in April 2013 to take the same position at Hofstra, taking over a team coming off a 7-25 (4-14) season
- Had the Pride in the CBI in year two and the NIT – by way of a CAA regular season title – in year three
- Repeated as the CAA champions in both 2019 and 2020, winning the CAA Tournament in 2020 to earn a NCAA bid
- In August 2020, Hofstra announced that Mihalich would be taking a medical leave of absence; he would end up missing the entire season
- Associate head coach Mike Farrelly was named acting head coach for the 2020-21 season, going 13-10 (8-6)
- In March 2021, Hofstra announced that Mihalich was stepping away from coaching and would transition into a new role as a special advisor to Director of Athletics Rick Cole, Jr.
- Returned to La Salle in 2022, becoming a special assistant to new head coach Fran Dunphy
- Along with his wife, Mary, has three sons
Joe Mihalich Coaching Tree
- Speedy Claxton (Hofstra)
- Mike Farrelly (Hofstra)
- Phil Martelli Jr. (Bryant)
- Kyle Neptune (Villanova, Fordham)
- Tom Parrotta (Canisius)