Hofstra University Head Men’s Basketball Coach Joe Mihalich announced today that Mike Farrelly has been promoted to associate head coach of the Pride. Farrelly will be entering his seventh season at Hofstra in 2019-20.
“There is no one more deserving of this promotion than Mike,” commented Mihalich. “He is extremely knowledgeable and his forward-thinking as it relates to analytics and game preparation have assisted our program in a multitude of ways. Mike’s future in this sport is very bright and I know eventually he will be a highly-successful head coach. He has had a major impact on the success of our program and I am thrilled that we are recognizing his contributions with this promotion.”
Farrelly has been a huge part of the success the Pride has had since Mihalich took over the program. Hofstra set a school record with 27 victories during the 2018-19 season and earned its first outright regular season conference title since the 2000-01 season. The Pride advanced to the Colonial Athletic Association Championship Game and the regular season title earned Hofstra an automatic berth in the National Invitation Tournament.
Farrelly has been an important part of the turnaround that has seen the Hofstra Men’s Basketball program win 105 games over the past five seasons and average more than 19 wins a season after Head Coach Joe Mihalich and his staff took over a program that was coming off a seven-win campaign.
Farrelly’s strong ability in the development of student-athletes has helped Pride players excel on the court. During his time at Hofstra he has worked with a trio of Hofstra student-athletes that have gone on to earn Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year honors as well as a multitude of other individual honors.
In 2015-16 Hofstra won 24 games, capture the regular season CAA title and advance to the National Invitation Tournament. It marked the most wins for the program since the 2005-06 season and the regular season conference title was the program’s first since joining the CAA in 2001. In addition, the NIT appearance was the program’s first since 2007.
Farrelly is a 2003 graduate of Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA, where he was a three-year member of the men’s basketball program. Farrelly was a member of three postseason teams at Saint Joseph’s, including two NCAA Tournament appearances.
Farrelly worked as an assistant coach at Niagara since August 2011 and assisted in the recruitment of a pair of student-athletes that helped lead the Purple Eagles to the 2012-13 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular season title. Farrelly came to Niagara from Mount St. Mary’s in Emmitsburg, MD, where he was an assistant coach from June 2010 until August 2011. He helped recruit a pair of talented players to the Mountaineers and worked with all positions during skill development and oversaw academics, compliance and recruiting schedules during his time with Mount St. Mary’s.
Farrelly’s diverse skills have also seen him serve as the director of Hoop Group Elite/Eastern Invitational with The Hoop Group from May 2007 until June 2010. He was responsible for camps and clinics that brought nearly 5,000 participants during the summer, fall and spring.
Farrelly also has previous experience as an assistant coach at Wilkes University in Wilkes Barre, PA.
Farrelly and his wife, Gina, have two sons, Michael (M.J.) and Ryan. The Farrelly family resides in Long Beach, New York.
Farrelly promoted to Associate Head Basketball Coach at Hofstra
