Mike Magpayo returns to the city where his Division-I coaching career started

In 2009, Mike Magpayo was living in Southern California and working as CEO of a multi-million dollar real estate firm that he helped start after graduating from UC Santa Barbara.

He became a prominent JV high school basketball coach within the region during his spare time but as the real estate market plunged between 2007-08, Magpayo knew his company needed to adapt.

So, in 2010, he decided to pursue a master’s degree on the other side of the country. Set to start at NYU, Magpayo searched for opportunities to stay close to basketball and wrote letters to every Division-I head coach in the New York City area in hopes of volunteering.

With dozens of handwritten notes sent thousands of miles, he received only a single response.

“It was Kyle Smith at Columbia,” Magpayo said. “Which was actually a big mistake. He thought I was going to be a graduate student at Columbia, and when I walked in [and explained] I was going to NYU, he’s like ‘no, you can’t help us.’ But he let me volunteer around camps and whatnot for the next two months.”

Nonetheless, Magpayo and Smith instantly connected as he worked summer camps for the now Stanford head coach. That relationship blossomed into Smith offering him a position as Columbia’s director of basketball operations heading into the 2010-11 season which Magpayo accepted after dropping out of NYU.

He spent the next three years at Columbia before a stint with Campbell and eventually returned back to his native California, joining Smith as he took over at San Francisco in 2017. Magpayo later moved to UC Riverside under David Patrick from 2018-20 and succeeded him as head coach for the next five years, leading the Highlanders to an 89-63 record.

Now, Magpayo is back in the city where it all started as Fordham University officially unveiled him as the next head coach of its men’s basketball program last week.

“I love New York City,” Magpayo said. “It’s the greatest city in the world, my favorite city in the world. It’s why I aggressively pursued this opportunity. I was sick to my stomach every day through the process, hoping for the chance to lead this program. I am honored to lead this basketball program.”

It’s no secret that Magpayo’s been a part of some pretty serious rebuilds in his still young coaching career.

Prior to his arrival at Columbia in 2010, the Lions hadn’t won more than 16 games since the 1970’s. By the time he’d left, they tied for the third most wins in a single season in Columbia basketball history, going 21-13 during the 2013-14 campaign.

Magpayo’s first season at Campbell saw just 10 wins and a second-to-last finish in the Big South. He helped the Camels improve to 19 wins ahead of his departure in 2017.

As the director of basketball operations at San Francisco during the 2017-18 season, Magpayo was on staff when the Dons managed 22 wins, which was the program’s most since 1982.

Even when thrust into the head coaching role at UC Riverside after a major pandemic, Magpayo flourished and in just three years led its best Division-I season in history.

It’s a resume that grasped the attention of Fordham president Tania Tetlow, who, alongside new athletic director Charles Guthrie, eyed someone to bring consistency in the ever-changing landscape of college athletics.

“What truly stands out is what Mike [Magpayo] has already accomplished,” Tetlow said. “When he took over at UC Riverside, the program was struggling and had just two winning seasons in two decades. Under his leadership, that changed dramatically. In five seasons, he delivered four winning records, two-20 win seasons and the school’s first-ever berth in the NIT. That kind of transformation doesn’t happen by accident. It takes vision, grit and the ability to inspire those around you.”

Undertaking a Fordham program that has never won an Atlantic 10 regular-season title or an A10 tournament and hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 1992 will be an even bigger challenge.

The first Division-I men’s basketball coach of full Asian heritage, Magpayo has never backed down from a challenge even with the odds stacked against him.

He’s an analyst and a statistician at his core and sees Fordham as an under-valued asset in the center of a basketball-rich city that lends itself well to a specific type of player and attitude.

Despite being from Southern California, Magpayo understands what it takes to succeed in the Big Apple. It’s an opportunity that he plans to leverage as a central piece in re-establishing this program.

“I think you have to sell New York City, and Fordham has a coach that loves New York City,” Magpayo said. “You have to get guys who have that charisma and energy because you have to be okay living in the city and in the Bronx.

“This is a 121-year-old basketball program. That’s pretty incredible. We have a great challenge in front of us. I still remember when I rented a van and [my wife and I] were driving away from the city, moving to North Carolina and tearing up knowing that we’d made it. New York is where I got my start in coaching. They say if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. I’m living proof of that, and I am proud to lead this program.”