Long-time Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) head men’s basketball coach Mike Griffin has announced he will retire following a distinguished 30-year career at the helm.

Griffin’s retirement is effective May 31 and a national search to find Rensselaer’s next head men’s basketball coach will begin immediately.

"I have been so fortunate to spend three decades in this wonderful educational environment where intercollegiate athletics are considered important," said Griffin. "Working with talented, dedicated colleagues in the Athletic Department and all around the campus has been a remarkable experience.

"Coaching literally hundreds of RPI student-athletes, sharing winning and losing with them and then watching them move on to successful, productive lives has been an experience to treasure."

"Mike Griffin’s time at Rensselaer is marked with incredible successes on the basketball court. League championships, NCAA bids, Players of the Year and Coach of the Year honors are all part of Mike’s resume over the years," said Rensselaer Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton. "But what is even more impressive is the impact that he has had on hundreds of young men during his time as our coach. Mike has provided opportunity for growth both on and off the court. He has helped many to achieve at levels they never thought possible, and that will truly be Mike’s legacy at Rensselaer. We are going to miss him dearly."

Griffin was named Rensselaer’s 13th head men’s basketball coach in August 1984. During his tenure he saw numerous team and individual records set – including his own for most wins in school history – and even more post-season accolades, Hall of Fame inductees and Dean’s List student-athletes.

Griffin retires with a mark of 402-382 at Rensselaer, including one season as the head women’s coach (1994-95). He guided the Engineers to eight post-season appearances, including three NCAA Tournaments (1991, 1996 & 2009) and he was the league’s Coach of the Year five times (1990, 1991, 1995, 1999 & 2011). The Pittsburgh, Pa., native posted at least 20 wins twice and at least 17 victories eight times.

Griffin led the Engineers to the Liberty League Tournament Finals as recently as 2013 when the team won its final seven regular season games and the league semifinal, which was on the road. Just two years prior, he was the Liberty League Coach of the Year after 17 wins and a first place finish in the league’s regular season standings.

Other highlights include the 1998-99 season when RPI was first in Division III men’s basketball in rebounding margin and third in scoring defense, and 1995-96 when the Engineers were 20-8 and played into the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16. That came just three seasons after RPI posted a 56-23 mark over the course of three years (1989-90 to 1991-92), in which they won 18 games twice and 20 games once. The 20-win season was 1990-91 when Rensselaer won a school-record 18 straight contests on its way to the NCAA Tournament.

Griffin coached more than 40 All-League honorees, five League Players of the Year, six All-ECAC selections, four D3hoops.com All-Region members and an All-State choice. He is a three-time Marvin H. Anderson Award recipient as Rensselaer’s Coach of the Year, as voted on by his peers.

A former assistant varsity coach and the head junior varsity coach at RPI, Griffin returned to Troy from Thiel College, where he was the head coach for one year. Prior to that, he spent six seasons as the head coach at Division I Colgate University.

Griffin played varsity basketball at Columbia University from 1962-65, lettering three years, including two as a starter. He was fourth in the Ivy League in rebounding as a junior and finished second behind only Bill Bradley as a senior, averaging 12.5 per game. He also averaged 8.8 points per game as a senior.

Griffin spent two years at Temple Law School before returning to Columbia for three seasons as the top assistant coach, helping the Lions to three 20-win seasons, a 63-14 mark and an Ivy League Championship. He left Columbia in 1970 to join Kalbaugh at RPI, where he played a major role in recruiting student-athletes who helped the Engineers advance to the NCAA Tournament in 1973, 1975 and 1976 and he was Rensselaer’s JV coach, posting a 31-11 record in three seasons.

After leaving RPI in 1973, Griffin made stops back at Columbia and the University of Vermont before landing his first head coaching assignment at Colgate. He spent a year in private business prior to coaching at Thiel, where he was also a member of the Dean of Student’s staff.

Griffin has held numerous positions at Rensselaer in addition to head men’s basketball coach. Among them were freshman lacrosse coach, a physical education instructor and assistant athletic director.

A graduate of Dormont High School in Pennsylvania and Columbia, where he was a pre-law student with a major in American history, Griffin currently resides in Latham with his wife, Priscilla. They have two grown daughters, Julia, who graduated from Harvard University and now teaches in Ohio, and Emilie, who graduated from Columbia and now teaches in New Hampshire.

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