Arthur "Buddy" Mahar (born April 29, 1945) is an American former college basketball coach. He most notably was the head coach of the Columbia Lions men's basketball team from 1978 to 1984.[1]

Buddy Mahar
Biographical details
Born (1945-04-29) April 29, 1945 (age 79)
Alma materBoston State
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1970–1973Newbury
1974–1976Notre Dame Prep
1976–1978Columbia (asst.)
1978–1984Columbia
1984–1986Fordham (asst.)
1989–1992FDU (women's asst.)
1992–1995Johnson State
1995–1996Vermont (asst.)
2004–2005SUNY Cortland (asst.)
Head coaching record
Overall198–134 (.596)

Coaching career

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After graduation from Boston State College (now UMass Boston), Mahar became the head coach at Newbury College, then a junior college in Brookline, Massachusetts, where he guided the team to an 88–14 record from 1970 to 1973, before moving on to be the head coach at Notre Dame Prepparatory School in Fitchburg, Massachusetts from 1976 to 1978.[2]

In 1978, Mahar joined Tom Penders staff at Columbia as an assistant coach and freshman coach, and replaced Penders when he left for Fordham to become 18th head coach in Lions history.[3][4] In his six seasons at the helm, Mahar guided Columbia to a 70-86 overall record including two second-place finishes in 1978-79 and 1981–82. He was awarded NABC District II Coach of the Year honors in 1982 for guiding the Lions to a 16–10 season.[5] While at Columbia, future college head coaches like Seth Greenberg served under Mahar.[6]

After being fired at Columbia at the conclusion of the 1983–84 season, Mahar reunited with Penders, and joined his Fordham staff as an assistant coach from 1984 to 1986.[7][8] After not being retained when Penders took the Rhode Island job, Mahar sat out of coaching in an attempt to sue Fordham for a breach of contract.[9]

Mahar returned to coaching, joining the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights women's basketball team as an assistant coach in 1989.[10] Mahar was part of a historic season for the Knights, as the 1991-92 team captured the Northeast Conference tournament title, which was later honored in the FDU Athletic Hall of Fame.[11]

In 1993, Mahar accepted the head coaching job at Johnson State College in Vermont, where he spent three seasons as the head coach, and compiled a 44–34 record from 1992 to 1995, leading the Badgers to a Mayflower Conference championship in 1995 while also being named 1995 Mayflower Coach of the Year. Mahar ranks third all-time in wins at Johnson State.[12]

After Johnson State, Mahar served as an assistant coach for one season under Tom Brennan at Vermont.[13] He then relocated to Cortland, New York and was an assistant coach during the 2004–05 season at SUNY Cortland.[14]

Personal

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Mahar's son Matt, who played for him at Johnson State, is a college basketball coach and has served as the head coach at Chaminade and Assumption College.[15][16] His younger son Eamonn is currently an assistant coach at Bryant.[17]

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Columbia (Ivy League) (1978–1984)
1978–79 Columbia 17–9 10–4 2nd
1979–80 Columbia 10–16 5–9 6th
1980–81 Columbia 9–17 5–9 4th
1981–82 Columbia 16–10 9–5 2nd
1982–83 Columbia 10–16 7–7 T–3rd
1983–84 Columbia 8–18 5–9 7th
Columbia: 70–86 (.449) 41–43 (.488)
Johnson State (Mayflower Conference) (1992–1995)
1992–93 Johnson State 13–12 N/A N/A
1993–94 Johnson State 16–11 N/A N/A
1994–95 Johnson State 15–11 N/A N/A
Johnson State: 44–34 (.564)
Total: 114–120 (.487)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. ^ "Buddy Mahar Coaching Record - College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  2. ^ "Columbia Daily Spectator 8 March 1984 — Columbia Spectator". spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  3. ^ "Columbia Daily Spectator 30 March 1978 — Columbia Spectator". spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  4. ^ "Mahar Says His Lions Will Run". The New York Times. March 31, 1978. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ "Seth Greenberg Joins This Week's Herenda Show". Fairleigh Dickinson University at Teaneck. February 2, 2018. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  7. ^ Goldaper, Sam (August 21, 1984). "SCOUTING; Mahar-Penders Planning Encore". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  8. ^ FEINSTEIN, JOHN (March 1, 1987). "It Has Been a Crazy Basketball Season at Fordham University". Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved February 18, 2020 – via LA Times.
  9. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ "The Day - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  11. ^ "Fairleigh Dickinson University Knights Athletics - FDU Hall of Fame". fduknights.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  12. ^ "Johnson State". Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  13. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ^ "Mahar Leaving Assumption as Men's Basketball Head Coach". March 6, 2015. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  16. ^ "Player Bio: Matt Mahar - CHAMINADE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE". www.fansonly.com.
  17. ^ "Eamonn Mahar - Bryant University Bulldogs". bryantbulldogs.com.