GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) — After 6 unforgettable seasons, CMU's head Men's Basketball coach Mike DeGeorge's time in Grand Junction has come to an end.
With 141 wins to just 43 losses, DeGeorge successfully turned Colorado Mesa into a Division-2 power. Now, he'll aim to do the same in Division 1 at the Big West's Cal Poly.
But he didn't see the move to beautiful San Luis Obispo as a reality until recently.
"They reached out to me and honestly it wasn't on my radar at all," said DeGeorge. "I was just really thrilled to be at Mesa."
But sometimes an opportunity is too good to pass up.
"It's a beautiful setting and it's a great school. In a lot of ways, it is a very good fit for me. And then the challenge of you know really being able to rebuild programs at all three levels would be a pretty cool exclamation point to my career."
After playing ball at Division-3's Monmouth College, DeGeorge helped reshape three Division-3 programs before coming to Mesa - Eureka College (2000-2004), Cornell College (2004-2009), and Rhodes College (2009-2018).
And at Colorado Mesa, DeGeorge really hit his stride.
"Impact is the word that comes to mind," said CMU Athletic Director Joan McDermott.
"He's impacted the whole program. Not only men's basketball but everyone. He's raised the standard."
But now the focus for DeGeorge is "trying to figure out how to end a 37-game conference losing streak."
DeGoerge certainly has his work cut out for him. He's taking over a team coming off just a 4-win season. But if anyone can turn it around, McDermott believes it's DeGeorge.
"He'll get it done in Cal Poly. I mean that's a challenging job. It's been a while since they had a lot of success. But if anybody can do it I believe he can."