Farmingdale State Women’s Basketball Coach Gets His 200th Win

The women's basketball team earned Coach Chris Mooney’s 200th win Jan. 31, against the College of Staten Island, 81-55. As Mooney tells it, the athletic department at the college knew he had 199 wins going into the game. But Mooney wasn't really thinking of the milestone going into the contest.

“Actually, just like other games, we go over the scouting report [for the College of Staten Island], and I mentioned it to the team, just as the last thing before we go back out to the court for the start of the game, because I knew they would find out [about it] afterwards," he said.

Mooney says the players were surprised and excited to hear about the milestone, especially because they were to be an active part of it.

Despite being down at the half against Staten Island, the Rams took charge in the second half, and never looked back.  

Chris Mooney is in his 11th year as coach of the women’s team. His teams have reached the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament two times. And last season, the Rams beat 10-time Skyline Conference defending champion Mount Saint Mary’s College, to win their first conference title.

Mooney’s journey to Farmingdale State is quite an interesting story in itself. Born in Brooklyn, Chris Mooney was raised in Freeport.  He played basketball at Freeport High School. “We were okay as a team," he said. "We weren’t ever great when I was there.”

After high school, Mooney studied at SUNY New Paltz in the mid-90s, where he also played basketball. But before he graduated, he seized on an opportunity to play basketball in Dusseldorf, Germany. “I had gone through my four years of eligibility at New Paltz, and I was supposed to go back to summer school to take six more credits, but I went to Germany instead,” he said. He played ball for a year there

It was in Germany that Mooney began coaching.

“When I was in Germany, my contract said that I also had to coach a youth team. So, I coached a girl’s team," he said. "After that, when I was teaching physical education [in Brooklyn, at Junior High School 113] I became head coach of the girl’s team.”  Later on, through relationships Mooney had built while coaching at JHS 113, he was able to interview for the open women’s coaching spot in 2000, and was given the job.

Adjusting to the much quicker college game, Mooney’s first couple of years were tough. “Our first year, we won 11 games. And the following year, we also had the same amount of wins.” But after that, his squads began winning 20 games a year.