Arthur "Buddy" Mahar (born April 29, 1945) is an American former

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He most notably was the head coach of the

Columbia Lions men's basketball The Columbia Lions basketball team is the basketball team that represents Columbia University in New York City. The school's team currently competes in the Ivy League. The team's last appearance in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament ...

team from 1978 to 1984.

Coaching career

After graduation from

Boston State College Boston State College was a public university located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. History Boston State College's roots began with the Girls' High School, which was founded in 1852. In 1872, the Boston Normal School separated from Girl ...

(now UMass Boston), Mahar became the head coach at Newbury College, then a junior college in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...

, 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 Fitchburg is a city in northern Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The third-largest city in the county, its population was 41,946 at the 2020 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private e ...

from 1976 to 1978. In 1978, Mahar joined

Tom Penders Thomas Vincent Penders (born May 23, 1945) is an American retired college basketball coach, who last coached from 2004 through 2010 at the University of Houston. He is from Stratford, Connecticut and has a 649–437 career record. As a college ath ...

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. 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. While at Columbia, future college head coaches like

Seth Greenberg Seth Vincent Greenberg (born April 18, 1956) is an American college basketball broadcaster who works as an analyst for ESPN. Prior to taking the position at ESPN he was a coach for 34 years, the last 22 as a head coach. Greenberg has been the he ...

served under Mahar. 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. 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. Mahar returned to coaching, joining the

Fairleigh Dickinson Knights women's basketball The Fairleigh Dickinson Knights women's basketball team represents Fairleigh Dickinson University in women's college basketball. Their colors are burgundy, white, and blue. This mid-major team competes in the Northeast Conference. The Knights host ...

team as an assistant coach in 1989. Mahar was part of a historic season for the Knights, as the 1991-92 team captured the

Northeast Conference The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...

tournament title, which was later honored in the FDU Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1993, Mahar accepted the head coaching job at

Johnson State College Johnson State College was a public liberal arts college in Johnson, Vermont. Founded in 1828 by John Chesamore, in 2018 it was merged with the former Lyndon State College to create Northern Vermont University. History and governance Both the ...

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. After Johnson State, Mahar served as an assistant coach for one season under Tom Brennan at

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. He then relocated to

Cortland, New York Cortland is a city and the county seat of Cortland County, New York. Known as the Crown City, Cortland is in New York's Southern Tier region. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 17,556. The city of Cortland, near the county's western ...

and was an assistant coach during the 2004–05 season at

SUNY Cortland The State University of New York College at Cortland (SUNY Cortland or Cortland State College) is a public college in Cortland, New York. It was founded in 1868 and is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. History The State Un ...

Personal

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. His younger son Eamonn is currently an assistant coach at Bryant.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahar, Buddy Living people 1945 births American men's basketball coaches Columbia Lions men's basketball coaches Fordham Rams men's basketball coaches Vermont Catamounts men's basketball coaches Fairleigh Dickinson Knights women's basketball coaches High school basketball coaches in the United States University of Massachusetts Boston alumni