NJAC NEWS ARCHIVE

 2003-04

February 11, 2004


MONTCLAIR'S FIORE EARNS HIS 250TH CAREER
MEN'S BASKETBALL COACHING VICTORY


GARNERS CAREER WIN NO. 100 AT MSU IN THE SAME WEEK


Montclair State men's basketball coach Ted Fiore picked up two coaching milestones in a four-day span as he  earned both career victory No. 250 and his 100th career win as the head coach of the Red Hawks. Fiore captured his 250th career win as Montclair State downed Rutgers-Newark, 71-60 on January 31. He then reached the century mark in his Montclair State tenure as his squad upended New Jersey City University, 90-80 on February 3.

Fiore's record currently stands at 253-164 overall while his mark at Montclair State is an impressive 102-54 for a .653 winning percentage. He became the fifth head coach in the 74-year history of the MSU program to reach 100 career wins. He joins Chett Pittser (123 from 1993-44), Alden C. Coder (113 from 1945-53), Hank Scmidt (135 from 1954-64) and legendary NJAC coach Ollie Gelson (303 from 1967-91).

In his five seasons, Fiore's winnning percentage at MSU is the best among all Montclair State coaches who roamed the sidelines for five or more seasons. He has averaged over 17 wins per season while taking his team to the post-season eight times.

Last year, Fiore guided MSU to the most successful season it had seen in over two decades. Montclair finished 23-6 (one win shy of the school record) and captured the New Jersey Athletic Conference championship for the first time since 1982, earning its first trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament in eight years. Montclair made the most of its NCAA opportunity by winning its first two games and reaching the “Sweet 16” before closing out the campaign in the Sectional semifinals. Not since 1984 had MSU played that deep into the month of March.

Before he came to Montclair State, Fiore carved out his own reputation as the head coach of Division I St. Peter’s College in Jersey City. He ran the Peacocks’ program from 1986-95, compiling a 151-110 mark, placing him second on the school’s all-time list for coaching victories. Four times during his tenure did St. Peter’s reach the post-season, including two trips to the NCAA Tournament (1991 and 1995). He was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s (MAAC) Coach of the Year three times and was twice voted the Coach of the Year by the New Jersey Coaches and Sportswriter’s Association and the Metropolitan Sportswriters association.