Vulin will try to turn Jaspers around

It was only about a month ago when Manhattan College held a rather large get-together at Draddy Gymnasium to introduce the school’s new athletic director in Marianne Reilly, making her the first woman in school history to head the Jaspers athletic department.

But late last week it was Reilly running the show as she introduced the first hire of her tenure when she named Heather Vulin as the Jaspers new head women’s basketball coach. Vulin then seized the opportunity to both thank and commend Reilly on her choice.

“I’ll never forget that you chose me for your first hire. So far I’m the best hire you’ve had and I want to keep it that way,” Vulin said to a round of laughs.

But there is no laughing at Vulin’s record. During her 16 seasons as an assistant coach, first at North Dakota State before stints at Sacred Heart, Villanova and finally Virginia Tech, all Vulin has done is win. Everywhere she has landed, Vulin has helped programs flourish which is why Reilly handed her the keys to the Jaspers’ struggling program.

“Sixteen years of experience, successful coaching records at North Dakota State, Sacred Heart University, Villanova and Virginia Tech,” Reilly said. “Throughout her career Heather was the key to many of their successes as an assistant coach and a recruiting coordinator. Their successes included four NCAA appearances as well as four WNIT appearances.

“At all of her previous institutions Heather recruited student-athletes who valued opportunities and excelled both academically and athletically,” she continued. “[Vulin coached] two Northeast Conference [NEC] Players of the Year, three Gatorade Players of the Year from Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia, three Sixth Man Players of the Year in the BIG EAST, numerous members of the NEC and BIG EAST All-Conference and All-Rookie Teams and she also mentored Rhode Scholars and Truman Scholar athletes.”

It’s an impressive resume, for sure, and one that helped Vulin stick among a group of quality candidates the school interviewed for the vacant position.

Smart set

“We had an outstanding pool of candidates and one of the more difficult tasks was deciding on how many candidates to bring to campus for our final interviews,” Reilly said. “All the individuals were knowledgeable, had high basketball IQs and were incredibly motivated to take the reins of our program which I think speaks volumes about the college. Some of the key elements that we were looking for in our head women’s basketball coach was an individual who understands the balance of academics and athletics at the Division I level, a coach who has a passion for the game and has a proven record of success, an individual who will recruit quality student-athletes and establish a winning basketball program in a first-class manner.”

But Reilly says it was a conversation with Vulin that sealed the deal in her mind.

“When I had a conversation with Heather about the position she convincingly said that everything that she has done and every decision that she has made has been with the intention of becoming a head coach,” Reilly said.  “And that resonated with me. There are many very good assistant coaches at the Division I level and many of them are overlooked. Many times they are behind the scenes with the joysticks making sure things work well and making sure that the success is given to the head coach. Heather deserves this opportunity and I’m so proud of the fact that we went forward with the decision to hire her.”

Vulin will take over a Jaspers program that has not had a winning campaign since the 2011-12 season when they went 18-16 overall and 10-8 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). In the four seasons since the Jaspers compiled a forgettable 35-87 overall mark and 25-53 mark in MAAC play. Vulin takes for former coach John Olenowski whose contract was not renewed after the Jaspers went 15-16 this season and reached the quarterfinals of the MAAC Tournament.

“I’m so thankful and honored for this amazing opportunity that Manhattan College has given me,” said Vulin, who was a two-sport athlete at the University of Minnesota Morris where she played basketball and volleyball. “From the moment I walked on campus I felt the energy and the commitment to make Manhattan College the best it can be from everyone I met with.”

Vulin said one of her first tasks will be to recruit the same type of student-athletes she has in the past which has led to her track record of success. Sort of an “if-it-isn’t-broke-don’t-fix-it” type of thing.

Scholar athletes

“I’ve had great success finding student-athletes that want the complete package — high academics, a chance to compete for championships and being able to enjoy life outside basketball,” said Vulin, who was joined at the press conference by her husband, children, parents and in-laws. “They want a healthy balance and they want to be surrounded by people who care about them. I feel confident that I can continue to offer that experience to our current and our future Jaspers. I’m also excited about the location of the college here in New York City, the greatest city on earth. I look forward to building relationships with the student-athletes, the administration and the entire Manhattan College community and working diligently to promote Manhattan College and all it has to offer student-athletes across the country.”

And while the women’s basketball program at Manhattan has struggled for much of the last several years, Vulin did not sugarcoat her plans for the program going forward.

“I’m an incredibly competitive person so I’m not afraid to say our goal here at Manhattan College is to win a MAAC championship and to compete for a championship each and every year,” Vulin said. “But more importantly, we’ll do things the right way and we won’t cut corners. We will not sacrifice character and integrity for short-term success. Our entire coaching staff will work diligently to give our players and our community our very best effort every day and I expect the same in return from our players. In order to achieve success we’ll have to put the hard work in and sacrifice every day.”

Signing on as Manhattan’s new head coach is the culmination of a journey that got its start at a very young age for Vulin.

“I’ve been coaching for 16 years and it’s been a long but incredibly rewarding journey,” Vulin said. “Becoming a head basketball coach has been my dream and passion since I was 14 years old. So being the head coach here at Manhattan College is not something I will ever take for granted. No one will be more committed, more focused or more inspired to lead this program than me. I thank God every day that he blessed me with a purpose and the opportunity to be a coach and a mentor to our young ladies. I’m truly thankful to be a Jasper and that I’m a part of something greater than myself. I believe great things are in store for this wonderful college and program.”