JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | AMY MULLIGAN has been appointed as the 13th head women's basketball coach in New Jersey City University history after an extensive search to fill the position. She will coach her first season with the Gothic Knights in 2011-12—the 42nd season of NJCU women's basketball—and will also serve as an athletic academic advisor.
Mulligan, 29, comes to NJCU with unique qualifications, having been one of the few female coaches in the country to have coached both men's and women's college teams. Prior to being hired at NJCU, Mulligan was the head men's basketball coach at Vaughn College in Flushing, NY for three seasons from 2008-11. She held many responsibilities at Vaughn where she also served as the school's athletic director and director of student affairs, overseeing four intercollegiate programs for the Warriors, while also coaching the women's tennis and co-ed cross country team. She was selected as the 2010-11 Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference (HVMAC) Basketball Coach of the Year.
“My goal is to make this program competitive, especially in the NJAC,” noted Mulligan. “Everyone who knows the NJAC knows it is probably the toughest conference in the country. To start, I want to build a tradition of competitiveness and this is a tremendous place to do it. The educational and playing opportunities for student-athletes at NJCU are excellent. I am excited about this opportunity.”
Alice De Fazio, Director of Athletics, said: “We are excited to have Coach Mulligan join our staff, and anticipate some very positive changes within the women's basketball program as a result. She brings a wealth of experience to the position, and will be an asset to New Jersey City University.”
Before arriving at Vaughn, Mulligan coached one season at Division I Dartmouth College, and the 2007-08 Big Green earned a share of the Ivy League Championship and a berth in the Women's NIT Tournament.
She coached two years at USMMA from 2005-07, helping to develop a pair of All-Skyline Conference players and the 2006 Skyline Conference Rookie of the Year (Kristen Hetsko). In addition to her coaching and recruiting responsibilities, Mulligan served as the director of marketing and promotions for the academy's athletics department. She was bestowed with the 'Most Inspirational Coach' award in 2006-07 by USMMA. Mulligan served as an assistant coach at Queens College for the 2004-05 season.
While still playing collegiately at Queens College, Mulligan began her coaching career an assistant coach for the junior varsity girls' basketball squad at New York City powerhouse Christ the King Regional High School from 2002-04, where she assisted in the development of more than 20 college scholarship players and two high school All-Americans—Careem Gay (Duke) and Tina Charles (UConn). The Royals captured the New York City championship all three seasons she was on staff at the school.
Mulligan played basketball for three years at the University of Vermont as a center and forward for Coach Keith Cieplicki before suffering an injury her junior season. After receiving a medical hardship waiver, she transferred to Queens College where she played two seasons (2003-05) for Coach Denis Conroy.
As a student-athlete at Vermont from 1999-2002, she was part of the Catamounts' 1999-2000 squad that won the America East Championship, defeating the University of Maine, 77-50, while making an NCAA Tournament appearance. She contributed four points and four rebounds in the championship game as a freshman.
Mulligan earned a degree in physical education from Queens College in 2005 and completed a Masters of Education from Trident University International in 2009.
Mulligan, a native of Maspeth, NY, played four seasons of high school basketball at Christ the King for Coach Vincent Cannizzaro, a current assistant coach at Division I Stony Brook. She played three seasons on the varsity level and was part of four city and three New York state championship squads. The Royals went undefeated her sophomore and junior seasons, winning the USA Today Girls Basketball National Championship her junior season in 1998. She was a two-year high school teammate of current WNBA star and Olympian Sue Bird. Mulligan received the Father John Savage Award in 1999—an honor awarded to the senior student-athlete with the highest grade point average.
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