After hearing the rumors swirl over the past 48-hours, HoopDirt.com can now confirm that NJIT’s Jim Engles will become the next basketball coach at Columbia.  He will replace Kyle Smith who became the head coach at San Francisco earlier this week.

Engles took over as the head coach at NJIT in 2009-09 – the program’s second season in DI.  He has done a remarkable job in growing the fledgling program – from winning just one game his first season, to putting together back-to-back 20-win campaigns in 2014-15 and 2015-16.  This season, his Highlanders advanced to the CIT semifinals before losing to Columbia.

The official announcement is expected shortly.