Head Coach Mark Corino
Kean University '77
20th Season

Mark Corino begins his 20^th season as the head men’s basketball coach at Caldwell College and 25^th overall. One of the most successful college coaches in the state of New Jersey, Corino is tied for fourth among men’s college coaches in the state with 429 career victories. After winning his 300^th game at Caldwell as well as reaching the 400-win plateau for his career in an eventful 2006, Corino achieved another milestone in 2007 by winning the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament and advancing to the NCAA Northeast Region Tournament for the first time. Through 24 years, his overall record is 429-274, including a 334-226 mark in 19 seasons at Caldwell.

“I’ve been fortunate to have been able to coach a number of outstanding student-athletes over the years, and certainly they deserve a lot of credit,” said Corino, who has coached eight NAIA All-Americans and numerous all-CACC players while at Caldwell. “Also, in order to win a lot of games, you need to be around long enough to have the opportunity to do so. That wouldn’t be possible without the support of my family, as well as the administration at Caldwell College.”

The list of Corino’s accomplishments is impressive: Five trips to the NAIA national tournament; one appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament; seven CACC regular-season championships; five CACC Tournament titles and a District 31 crown.

Corino also has developed and recruited several talented players at Caldwell. In fact, in 11 of 12 seasons from 1990 to 2002, the NAIA All-America teams included a player from Caldwell College. Thirteen players, including all-time leading scorer and first team All-American Matt Stuart, have reached the 1,000-point milestone. And Corino himself has received several honors, including four CACC Coach of the Year awards. In 1992, Corino was named the Jersey 9 and District 31 Coach of the Year, and was selected by the All-Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association as its Coach of the Year in 1998.

What makes all of these achievements even more impressive is that Corino had virtually no foundation on which to build such a successful program when he came to Caldwell College in 1988, as the program was established one year before his arrival. Similarly, with Corino as the College’s first full-time athletic director, the athletic department has made significant strides in its short existence. In his first year, Corino headed a department that had three programs and no conference affiliation. Today, Caldwell has 11 intercollegiate athletic programs, with 10 competing in the CACC. Corino also oversaw the College’s transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II, which was completed in 2003.

Along with the jump to NCAA Division II status came an upgrade in facilities with the opening of the state-of-the-art George R. Newman Center, home of the Caldwell College basketball and volleyball teams.

Corino also played a role in the creation of the CACC, which has grown to 13 members. Corino, who has served as the conference’s president during two separate stints, was named the CACC and NAIA Region X Administrator of the Year in 2000. He also was among 14 finalists for the NAIA National Athletic Administrator of the Year.

A native of Belleville, N.J., Corino attended Kean (N.J.) University, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in industrial arts. He later received a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Caldwell in 1997. Corino began his collegiate coaching career in 1983 at Bloomfield College, where he compiled a record of 95-48 in five seasons.

Corino is the youngest of three brothers who have combined for more than 1,000 coaching victories at the collegiate and high school levels. Oldest brother Jimmy was a high school basketball coach, while Carl is one of the all-time winningest high school softball coaches in New Jersey.

Corino, 52, resides in Cedar Grove, N.J., with his wife Susan, and daughter Michele. “My family has been tremendously supportive and without their understanding we would not have been able to accomplish all that we have here at Caldwell,” Corino said. “They’ve played an important part in our success as well.”

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