CONTACT: Adam Sopris, a.sopris@hvcc.edu, 518-629-7898 or 518-416-2137
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Saturday, November 16, 2019
Hudson Valley Community College's head men's basketball coach Mike Long accomplished a coaching career milestone with his 500th win as the Vikings defeated Rockland Community College 103-93 in overtime on Saturday afternoon in the McDonough Sports Complex on the campus of Hudson Valley Community College.
The longevity and success of Coach Long's career has been recognized as a Hall of Fame inductee at the College of Saint Rose Athletic Hall of Fame (1992), the Bishop Maginn High School Hall of Fame (2006), the NYS Capital District Basketball Hall of Fame (2010) and the Sage Colleges Athletics Hall of Fame (2019). Coach Long was also awarded the Same Perkins Sportsmanship Award in 2013.
A Capital Region native, Coach Long has coached at four area colleges and Christian Brothers Academy since he started coaching nearly 50 years ago in 1972 for the Siena College Junior Varsity program for one season.
Long was then hired as the head coach at The College of Saint Rose and coached from 1973-86 and compiled a 166-155 record. Long, nicknamed the father of Saint Rose basketball after developing a program that competed in the Northeastern Athletic Conference (NAC) from 1977-84 and won five NAC titles, including two consecutive undefeated seasons in 1978-79 and 1979-80 seasons. Saint Rose later dedicated the court in honor of Coach Long in November of 2008.
Following his stint at Saint Rose, Coach Long spent 13 years on the sidelines as the men's basketball coach at Sage Colleges (formerly Junior College of Albany) from 1990-2003. During his time at Sage, Coach Long amassed a 222-142 record, for a .609 win percentage. His most successful season was in 2001-2002 when the program finished 27-4 and advanced the NJCAA Division II Region 3 tournament. Coach Long's 2001-02 team still holds the program record for most wins in a single season.
Nearly 10 years after his last head coaching position, Mike Long was hired to take over the Hudson Valley Vikings men's basketball program in 2013. Coach Long was named the Mountain Valley Conference Coach of the Year and the NJCAA Region 3 Coach of the Year for his successful 2016 campaign. Coach Long currently sits seventh on the Vikings all-time wins list with 101 wins at Hudson Valley. A historic program win for Hudson Valley came last season (2018-19), when they went on the road and defeated the nation's top program and eventual national champion, Herkimer College by 30 points.
Coach Long's seventh season with Hudson Valley tipped off on Nov. 2 with a road win over Cayuga and has the program sitting near the top of the Region 3 standings with a 4-1 record. Hudson Valley Community College will officially recognize Coach Long on his 500th career win prior to the start of their next home game on Wednesday, Nov. 20 against Dutchess at 7 p.m.