American International College Director of Athletics Matt Johnson has announced that Art Luptowski is resigning as the College’s head men’s basketball coach. A national search to find his successor will begin immediately.
Luptowski has accepted a position with the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA) as an Advanced Scout. Luptowski has remained close with new Pistons head coach, Stan Van Gundy, since they were on opposite benches when Van Gundy was coaching at Castleton State and UMass Lowell. Van Gundy recently reached out to Luptowski and offered him an opportunity to join the Piston’s staff. In his last 15 seasons at the helm, he led the Yellow Jackets to two NCAA Championship Tournaments in 2000 and 2010.
Luptowski came to AIC after a highly successful tenure at fellow Northeast-10 program Franklin Pierce. In 10 seasons with the Ravens, he posted a 192-97 (.664) record and four trips to the NCAA Tournament, culminating with the 1990-91 season in which FPC finished with a 26-6 mark and advanced to the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship game.
A native of Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, Luptowski was one of four coaches to earn New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Coach of the Year honors in consecutive seasons and has earned the award a total of three times. He also earned Kodak District Coach of the Year accolades from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) following the 1990-91 campaign.
"Art Luptowski is one of the most knowledgeable, hard-working coaches that I have had the pleasure of working with over the past nine years. His dedication to the program and the development of the student-athlete, along with his passion for teaching the game of basketball will be extremely hard to replace. We are all excited about his new career opportunity, yet sad to see him leave our family. We wish him nothing but the best in the future!"
Luptowski emphasizes a great incoming class and two top-notch transfers to add experience to the AIC roster.
"These guys will have the opportunity to compete with the top of the {Northeast-10}," said Luptowski.
This marks the second of the last three men’s basketball coaches to be courted by NBA franchises. Former AIC head coach Jimmy Powell (1979-95) was also recruited to be an advanced scout by the then Vancouver Grizzlies and currently works for the Indiana Pacers.
Stay with HoopDirt for the latest college basketball coaching news and rumors.
