MIAMI (Nov. 7, 2013) – Head Coach Anthony Evans announced today the addition of Mike Gillian to the FIU men's basketball staff.
“Coach Gillian is a tremendous addition to our staff,” said Evans. “I have a lot of respect for him and have known him for some time. Coach Gillian is going to be an important piece to our success and will bring a wealth of knowledge as we enter our first season in Conference USA.
Gillian, who will serve as an assistant coach, comes to FIU after serving as the head coach at Longwood University for the past 10 years. As the longest tenured coach for the Lancers, Gillian built an NCAA Division I program from the ground up, including the four-year reclassification from Division II (2003-07). Coach Gillian's 10-year overall record at Longwood was 92-213, including an overall home court record of 67-58 in Willett Hall, where the program is an impressive 64-38 over the past eight years.
Prior to his arrival at Longwood, Coach Gillian was an assistant coach at George Mason University under head coach Jim Larranaga from 1997-2003. He had also worked under Larranaga for one season at Bowling Green State (Ohio) University (1996-97) before moving with him to George Mason. Gillian played a role in the recruitment of several members of the Mason team that shocked the world of college basketball during the 2005-06 season while advancing to the Final Four in Indianapolis.
At Bowling Green, the Falcons finished 22-10, while winning the 1997 Mid-American Conference regular season title (13-5) and earning an NIT appearance. MAC Player of the Year Antonio Daniels, who enjoyed a 13-year NBA career, led that BGSU team.
Prior to joining Larranaga at BGSU, Gillian was an assistant coach at Division II American International (Mass.) from 1989-95. During that six-year stint working for current Indiana Pacers assistant coach Jimmy Powell, the Yellow Jackets went 117-58 overall with a 75-33 Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) record, winning both the NE-10 regular season and tournament championships in 1994 (26-6). American International also advanced to the second-round of the Division II Tournament that year.
Gillian has been a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) since 1989. He was a YES Clinic speaker at the Division I Men's Final Four from 1998-2000, and again in 2007 in Atlanta, and has extensive public speaking experience through his involvement with numerous booster, local business and civic organizations, and charity events. Since arriving at Longwood, Gillian has appeared on ESPN2's Cold Pizza, became a weekly in-season guest on Richmond Sports Radio 910 (The Final Round With Wes McElroy, The Mike Maniscalco Show), served as the same station's NCAA Tournament Analyst, co-hosted his own in-season Mike Gillian Show on Farmville's Kickin' Country 92.9, served as that station's NCAA Tournament Analyst, co-hosted a monthly morning sports talk radio show on Farmville's WFLO AM 870, and has been interviewed by numerous sportswriters, radio personalities, as well as Internet sportswriters and bloggers.
Gillian was a four-year letterman as an undergraduate at Division III North Adams State (now the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts), and served as a team captain during his final two years. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from North Adams, and earned a Master of Business Administration degree from American International.
A native of Ayer, Massachusetts, Gillian and his wife, Janet, have a daughter, Emma.
The 2013-2014 FIU men's basketball season tips off on Friday, Nov. 8, when the Panthers face Eastern Kentucky in the team's opening game of the Kennesaw State Tournament (Nov. 8-12). Game time is set for 5:00 p.m. ET. The home opener is slated for Thursday, Nov. 14, when FIU hosts Florida College. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
Men's basketball season tickets can be purchased by calling the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME or conveniently online at FIUSports.com
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including U.S. Century Bank Arena and Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium.
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelor¹s, master¹s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida¹s anchor institutions, FIU is Worlds Ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded 200,000 degrees and enrolls 50,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/
