Matthew Furjanic Jr. (born October 26, 1950) is an American basketball coach. He was head coach for Robert Morris University men's basketball team between 1979 and 1984, Marist College men's basketball from 1984 to 1986, the Pitt Greensburg Bobcats from 1995 to 2000 and the Polk State Eagles between 2000 and 2017. He has coached for a total of 40 years, 35 of them as head coach.
Furjanic was born in Rankin, Pennsylvania. His parents were Matthew L. Furjanic Sr., and Mildred (Sedlak) Furjanic. His father was mayor of Rankin between 1954 and 1997. He attended the University of Pittsburgh before transferring to Point Park College, graduating in 1973 with a BA in Social Studies/Secondary Education. While at Pitt he played on the freshman's basketball team, and at Point Park he played on the junior varsity basketball team for one season.
Coaching career
Furjanic started his career in 1972 as an assistant basketball coach at General Braddock High School in North Braddock, Pennsylvania before becoming head coach from 1975–77. From 1977–1979 he was assistant coach at Robert Morris University in Coraopolis and took the head coaching job from 1979 until 1984. In 1984 he became the head basketball coach at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York for two seasons.[1][2] From 1991 to 1995 he was head coach at Woodland Hills High School in Pittsburgh.[3]
From 1995 to 2000 Furjanic was head coach at the Pitt-Greensburg. He was then named head coach at Polk State College in Winter Haven, Florida, in 2000. While coaching the Eagles, Furjanic has an overall record of 319–214, which includes six Suncoast Conference titles (2013, 2011, 2009, 2008, 2004 and 2003), three Suncoast Conference tournament titles, and six Suncoast Conference Coach of the Year awards.[4][5]
Furjanic has an overall coaching record of 606–411.[4] His teams have won either a conference tournament or regular season championship in 20 seasons, and have reached the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament three times (two times at Robert Morris and once at Marist).[6]
Awards and honors
Furjanic is a five time honoree in four Halls of Fame. He was inducted into the East Boros Chapter of the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame in 1990. In November 2007, Furjanic was inducted into the Robert Morris University Hall of Fame as a coach.[7] He was also inducted again into the Robert Morris Hall of Fame in 2014 with his 1982–83 team, the first team in RMU history to play in the NCAA Tournament. In 2013, he was inducted into the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Hall of Fame. In March 2017, he was inducted into the NJCAA Region 8-FCSAA Men’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
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
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
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
^Emert, Rich. "Where are they now: Matt Furjanic." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 4, 2002. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
^"Matthew Furjanic was named basketball coach at Marist College Wednesday." UPI. October 10, 1984. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
^Mackall, Dave. "Former Robert Morris coach Furjanic enjoys coaching in Florida." The Trib. January 13, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
^ abBendel, Joe. "Longtime coach Matt Furjanic of Rankin steps down." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 30, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
^"Coach Matt Furjanic Inducted into Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) Hall of Fame." Polk State College. February 22, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
^"Fredericksen: Kudos to Polk State's Matt Furjanic on 600 wins." The Ledger. January 29, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
^ ab"Matt Furjanic." RMU Athletic Hall of Fame. 2007. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
^"Matt Furjanic." Sports Reference. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
March 09, 2023
matthew, furjanic, born, october, 1950, american, basketball, coach, head, coach, robert, morris, university, basketball, team, between, 1979, 1984, marist, college, basketball, from, 1984, 1986, pitt, greensburg, bobcats, from, 1995, 2000, polk, state, eagles. Matthew Furjanic Jr born October 26 1950 is an American basketball coach He was head coach for Robert Morris University men s basketball team between 1979 and 1984 Marist College men s basketball from 1984 to 1986 the Pitt Greensburg Bobcats from 1995 to 2000 and the Polk State Eagles between 2000 and 2017 He has coached for a total of 40 years 35 of them as head coach Matthew Furjanic Jr Biographical detailsBornOctober 26 1950Rankin PennsylvaniaAlma materPoint Park CollegePlaying career1968 1969University of Pittsburgh1969 1970Point Park CollegeCoaching career HC unless noted 1975 1977General Braddock High School assistant 1977 1979Robert Morris assistant 1979 1984Robert Morris1984 1986Marist College1991 1995Woodland Hills High School1995 2000Pitt Greensburg2000 2017Polk State CollegeHead coaching recordOverall606 411 596 Contents 1 Background 2 Coaching career 3 Awards and honors 4 Coaching record 4 1 NCAA Division I 4 2 NCAA Division III 4 3 NJCAA 5 ReferencesBackground EditFurjanic was born in Rankin Pennsylvania His parents were Matthew L Furjanic Sr and Mildred Sedlak Furjanic His father was mayor of Rankin between 1954 and 1997 He attended the University of Pittsburgh before transferring to Point Park College graduating in 1973 with a BA in Social Studies Secondary Education While at Pitt he played on the freshman s basketball team and at Point Park he played on the junior varsity basketball team for one season Coaching career EditFurjanic started his career in 1972 as an assistant basketball coach at General Braddock High School in North Braddock Pennsylvania before becoming head coach from 1975 77 From 1977 1979 he was assistant coach at Robert Morris University in Coraopolis and took the head coaching job from 1979 until 1984 In 1984 he became the head basketball coach at Marist College in Poughkeepsie New York for two seasons 1 2 From 1991 to 1995 he was head coach at Woodland Hills High School in Pittsburgh 3 From 1995 to 2000 Furjanic was head coach at the Pitt Greensburg He was then named head coach at Polk State College in Winter Haven Florida in 2000 While coaching the Eagles Furjanic has an overall record of 319 214 which includes six Suncoast Conference titles 2013 2011 2009 2008 2004 and 2003 three Suncoast Conference tournament titles and six Suncoast Conference Coach of the Year awards 4 5 Furjanic has an overall coaching record of 606 411 4 His teams have won either a conference tournament or regular season championship in 20 seasons and have reached the NCAA Division I men s basketball tournament three times two times at Robert Morris and once at Marist 6 Awards and honors EditFurjanic is a five time honoree in four Halls of Fame He was inducted into the East Boros Chapter of the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame in 1990 In November 2007 Furjanic was inducted into the Robert Morris University Hall of Fame as a coach 7 He was also inducted again into the Robert Morris Hall of Fame in 2014 with his 1982 83 team the first team in RMU history to play in the NCAA Tournament In 2013 he was inducted into the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Hall of Fame In March 2017 he was inducted into the NJCAA Region 8 FCSAA Men s Basketball Hall of Fame Coaching record EditNCAA Division I Edit Statistics overview Season Team Overall Conference Standing PostseasonRobert Morris University ECAC Metro Conference 1979 1984 1979 80 Robert Morris 7 191980 81 Robert Morris 9 181981 82 Robert Morris 17 13 9 5 1st South NCAA Division I Round of 641982 83 Robert Morris 23 8 12 2 1st South NCAA Division I Round of 641983 84 Robert Morris 17 13 11 5 T 1stMarist College ECAC Metro Conference 1984 1986 1984 85 Marist 17 12 11 3 1st1985 86 Marist 19 12 11 5 2nd NCAA Division I Round of 64Total 109 95 534 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 8 7 NCAA Division III Edit Statistics overview Season Team Overall Conference Standing PostseasonPitt Greensburg Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference 1995 2000 1995 96 Pitt Greensburg 7 171996 97 Pitt Greensburg 14 101997 98 Pitt Greensburg 9 161998 99 Pitt Greensburg 17 9 1st1999 00 Pitt Greensburg 21 9 1stTotal 68 61 527 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 championNJCAA Edit Statistics overview Season Team Overall Conference Standing PostseasonPolk State College Suncoast Conference 2000 2017 2000 01 Polk State 22 102001 02 Polk State 16 162002 03 Polk State 23 9 1st2003 04 Polk State 20 11 1st2004 05 Polk State 13 182005 06 Polk State 16 162006 07 Polk State 13 162007 08 Polk State 24 6 1st2008 09 Polk State 26 6 1st2009 10 Polk State 17 132010 11 Polk State 17 14 1st2011 12 Polk State 18 142012 13 Polk State 22 9 1st2013 14 Polk State 18 142014 15 Polk State 21 102015 16 Polk State 23 92016 17 Polk State 10 22Total 319 214 598 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 championReferences Edit Emert Rich Where are they now Matt Furjanic Pittsburgh Post Gazette January 4 2002 Retrieved November 13 2017 Matthew Furjanic was named basketball coach at Marist College Wednesday UPI October 10 1984 Retrieved November 13 2017 Mackall Dave Former Robert Morris coach Furjanic enjoys coaching in Florida The Trib January 13 2014 Retrieved November 13 2017 a b Bendel Joe Longtime coach Matt Furjanic of Rankin steps down Pittsburgh Post Gazette June 30 2017 Retrieved November 13 2017 Coach Matt Furjanic Inducted into Florida College System Activities Association FCSAA Hall of Fame Polk State College February 22 2017 Retrieved November 13 2017 Fredericksen Kudos to Polk State s Matt Furjanic on 600 wins The Ledger January 29 2017 Retrieved November 13 2017 a b Matt Furjanic RMU Athletic Hall of Fame 2007 Retrieved November 13 2017 Matt Furjanic Sports Reference Retrieved November 13 2017 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Matthew Furjanic Jr amp oldid 1109638202, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
