<p>HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Hofstra men’s basketball coach Joe Mihalich, who missed last season after taking a medical leave, will shift jobs and become a special adviser to the school’s athletic director.</p>
<p>The school announced the move Friday. In August, Hofstra said the 64-year-old Mihalich would be out but didn’t specify the reason.</p>
<p>Mihalich’s final game on the bench was a 70-61 victory over Northeastern for the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament championship last year. That gave the Pride their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001 — but they didn’t get to play when the tournament was called off because of the coronavirus pandemic.</p>
<p>Associate head coach Mike Farrelly became Hofstra’s acting head coach this past season and guided the Pride to a 13-10 record. The school said a national search for the next head coach will begin right away.</p>
<p>After 15 years as head coach at Niagara and 17 as an assistant at La Salle, Mihalich was hired by Hofstra before the 2013-14 season, taking over a team that had just gone 7-25.</p>
<p>In his seven seasons on the bench, Hofstra won at least 20 games four times and went 141-92 overall. Mihalich led the Pride to two appearances in the NIT and what would’ve been their first game in the NCAA Tournament in two decades.</p>
<p>“I always said to my sons and my teams ‘end on a make’ … and that’s what I did,” Mihalich said in a statement released by the school. “Having that championship moment in 2020 is something I, and the entire Hofstra family, will never forget.”</p>
<p>“I look forward to serving the Hofstra Pride in a new role and seeing our programs continue to flourish,” he said.</p>
<p>Mihalich had a combined record of 406-295 at Hofstra and Niagara.</p>
<p>Athletic director Rick Cole Jr. praised Mihalich as “an incredible leader, educator, and steward of our men’s basketball program over the past eight years.”</p>
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