Mike Fuline made Mount Union basketball a winner. New challenge awaits
Mike Fuline won a state title as a high school basketball coach; led Mount Union to a national runner-up finish. A job at a Power Four school is next.
ALLIANCE — The golden age of Mount Union men's basketball will continue with a new man in charge. Mike Fuline is resigning as the Purple Raiders coach to join Jerrod Calhoun's staff at the University of Cincinnati . The Bearcats hired Calhoun as head coach in March.
Mike Fuline's record at Mount Union Fuline's departure after 15 seasons ends the most successful run by a Mount Union men's basketball head coach in program history. He is the Purple Raiders' all-time winningest coach with 285 victories. Under Fuline, Mount Union won five Ohio Athletic Conference regular-season championships, three OAC Tournament titles and appeared in the NCAA Division III Tournament five times.
His 2022-23 team was the national runner-up. Mike Fuline's record as a high school basketball coach at Jackson Fuline came to Mount Union after a successful high school coaching career. He won 95 games in six seasons at Jackson and led the Polar Bears to their first OHSAA Division I state championship in 2010.
He also won a district championship at Rootstown and was named the state's Division III Co-Coach of the Year in 2004. Calhoun has strong Northeast Ohio ties. He is an East Liverpool native who played at Cleveland State and served as an assistant coach at Walsh.