University of Mount Union

Email: fulinmj@mountunion.edu

Mike Fuline enters his 14th season as head men's basketball coach at Mount Union.

Fuline has turned the program into a perennial regional and national power as the Purple Raiders have won four Ohio Athletic Conference regular season titles, three OAC Tournament title and four NCAA Tournament appearances with two runs to the Sweet 16 and a run to the National Championship game in the 2022-23 season.

About the only thing to slow the Raiders down as been the CoVID-19 pandemic which shut down the 2020 NCAA Tournament when the Raiders finished with their highest-ever national ranking at No. 5 after a school-record 27 wins.

Six 20-win seasons over the last ten seasons, including the program's first 30 win season in 2022-23, have happened under Fuline's watch. In 2020, he earned OAC and D3hoops.com Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year honors. He was also named the D3hoops.com Region 7 Coach of the Year and NABC District 7 Coach of the Year in 2022-23. 

Other career highlights inlcude leading Mount Union to their first OAC title since 1997 in 2014, in 2015, the Raiders won the OAC Tournament title for the first time in 18 seasons to make the NCAA Tournament and advance to the Sweet 16 for the second time in school history. Mount Union finished that season ranked No. 14 in the nation.

Fuline was also named OAC Coach of the Year in 2014 and Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year in 2015.

In his tenure, the program has had three All-Americans, three OAC Player of the Years, five players named OAC Freshman of the Year, an OAC Defensive Player of the Year and 34 all-conference selections.

Fuline came to Mount Union after spending eight years as a head coach at Massillon Jackson (2005-11) and Rootstown (2003-05) high schools.

He was 95-42 (.693) in six years at Jackson, with a 76-19 (.800) mark over his final four seasons that included winning the 2010 OHSAA Division I State championship. The Polar Bears won Federal League titles in each of his last two seasons and he was named Federal League Coach of the Year both years.

At Rootstown, his 2003-04 team posted a 16-6 record and won a sectional championship while his 2004-05 team went 20-4, shared the league title and won a district championship. Fuline was named 2004 Ohio's Division III Co-Coach of the Year.

Fuline began his coaching career with assistant coaching stints at Ravenna and Green high schools.

A graduate of Akron Manchester High School, he holds a bachelor's degree from Kent State University and a master's degree from Walsh University.

He and his wife, Amy, are the proud parents of five children.

Updated by SID 7/18/24