TROY, N.Y. - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) head men's basketball coach Mike Griffin has been named the Liberty League Coach of the Year, it has been announced.  This marks the fourth Coach of the Year honor for Griffin, who is assisted by Paul Halas, Bob Hummel and Jeff Hiser. 

Griffin, who is in his 26th year as Rensselaer's head coach, led the Engineers to a 17-7 overall record during the regular season, with an 11-3 conference mark. RPI clinched a share of the Liberty League title, and will appear as the second seed in the league tournament this weekend.

After facing a tough non-conference schedule, which included losses to #1 Williams (now 24-1) and #3 Middlebury (23-1) and wins over New Jersey City University (18-9) and the ECAV Tip-Off Tournament title, the Engineers opened league play with three straight wins. RPI then concluded the slate by winning eight of its last nine games, including the final seven in a row.

Rensselaer currently leads the Liberty League in a number of categories, including rebounding (40.1 per game), offensive rebounds (13.5) and blocked shots (4.96). RPI is ninth nationally in blocks. The Engineers are second in the conference in scoring (77.2 points per game), scoring margin (+7.5), three-point shooting percentage (37.1%) and three-point shooting percentage defense (31.8%). 

Individually, sophomore Daniel Martin leads the league in blocked shots (1.86 per game), while senior Jeremy Moylan is third (1.42). Senior Jeremy Bull is fifth in free throw percentage (78.6%), while junior Matthew Pooley (50.8%) and senior Travis Jones (42.1%) rank first and third, respectively, in three-point field goal percentage. 

In his career at Rensselaer, Griffin has a 339-318 overall record. He was previously named Coach of the Year during the 1989-90, 1990-91 and 1998-99 seasons.

This year marks the seventh time Griffin's teams have advanced to post-season tournaments, including three appearances in the NCAA Tournament. His 1990-91 squad won 18 games in a row on its way to a 20-4 regular season record and an NCAA Tournament berth, while the 1995-96 team posted a 20-8 record and reached the Sweet Sixteen. Most recently, Griffin's 2008-09 Engineers won the Liberty League Championship, earning an automatic bid into the Tournament.

Among the standouts Griffin has coached at RPI are 39 All-League selections, five League Players of the Year, six All-ECAC, four D3hoops.com All-Region, and one All-State selection.

A three-time Marvin H. Anderson award recipient as Rensselaer's Coach of the Year, Griffin spent one season as the RPI women's basketball head coach, posting a 14-11 record and leading the team to an appearance in the New York State Tournament.

Before Rensselaer, Griffin spent six seasons as the head men's basketball coach at Colgate University, where he coached Mike Ferrara, a two-time National All-America selection by The Sporting News and 1981 NBA draft pick.