When Mike Moskowitz moved to the Hudson Valley three summers ago, he reached out to State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball coach Jamie Seward, hoping for the opportunity to join his coaching staff.

Moskowitz immediately made an impression and following the sit-down interview, Seward asked him a question that three years later still resonated.

"He asked me a question I'll never forget," Moskowitz recalled. "'Tell me what you hope to get out of all this.' When I told him I one day wanted to be a head coach, he made a commitment to ensure I'd get all the experience I needed for whenever that time came. Learning under Jamie and alongside the "mayor" Darren Jackson has expedited the process of becoming a head coach. Their work ethic, attention to detain and overall commitment to excellence is unmatched."

With the experience he gained from working under Seward and with assistant coach Darren Jackson, Moskowitz was ready to pursue his dream of becoming the head coach of his own program. And at the end of April that dream officially came true, as Moskowitz accepted the women's basketball head coaching position at Alfred University, hoping to turn around a program that won two games a season ago.

"He's got that indefinable quality. If that is charisma, enthusiasm, whatever you want to call it. He just has it," Seward said. "He just has this presence about him. When he is in a room he definitely fits. It doesn't matter who is in that room, how much experience they might have or how much success they might have on their resume. He has that ability to fit and command a presence and I think that along with that, and he is a tremendously hard worker."

Although he worked the past three seasons on a volunteer basis, Moskowitz treated the position as a full time job. As his responsibilities grew, he became an integral part of the Hawks' recent success.

Through his three seasons with the SUNY New Paltz women's program, Moskowitz was a big part of an impressive run that boasted two SUNYAC championships, back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances and a trip to the NCAA Sweet 16. During that span the team was 58-26 and had six different players earn All-SUNYAC honors, including four first-team selections.

"He came on and three years later he certainly exceeded those initial expectations. We were initially impressed by him and he even exceeded those expectations quite significantly," Seward said. "He was a real benefit to our players… He had great insight during games, won a couple games for us over the years just by coming up with, "Hey, maybe we should look at this," and got a couple big baskets in some tight games.

"It took a lot off of my plate to have two tremendous assistants who I can give a weekend scout. Everything, whether it was 2 o'clock in the morning getting text messages saying, 'We should try this, this can help us.' It is going to be tough. He definitely had an impact from day one and it just grew from there. We're really, really happy for him and we know he's going to do a tremendous job there, but it is definitely going to be challenging for us to figure out how to pick up the slack that he is going to leave behind."

Moskowitz was a student of the game and absorbed everything he could to get better as a coach. His work ethic was the first thing his previous boss, former SUNY Oneonta men's basketball coach, Vince Medici said to Seward when Moskowitz was applying for the assistant coach position.

"I remember that was the voicemail I got... he is just a workaholic. The work ethic combined with that charisma and presence, and he's just a basketball student. He knows the game. He has the X's and O's," Seward said. "He might have been an assistant coach on the resume, but he had that head coach presence and I don't think anybody would deny that who has come in contact with him the last three years that he spent here."
 
Obviously, boosting the Saxons win total is short-term objective for Moskowitz, but more importantly Moskowitz wants to help build program that continuously strives for excellence, much like the program Seward has built in his 11-plus years at SUNY New Paltz.

"Moving forward our goals at Alfred are to constantly pursue excellence on the court, in the community and in the classroom by developing a disciplined focused work ethic in everything we do," Moskowitz said. "Jamie taught me a lot about molding lifelong leaders and not selling our student-athletes short, so I will apply the same thought process at Alfred. Our student-athletes will pursue their interests outside of basketball and share those experiences with our team, so that we can better develop relationships on and off the court."

Although he is excited for the opportunity to start his own program, Moskowitz said he would always remember the impact SUNY New Paltz had on his career.

"New Paltz is such a unique place. The women's basketball program, the athletic department and the campus community are all so special," he said. "I am so thankful to all the student athletes who have had much more of an impact on me and my learning experience than I've had on them. They let me be myself and grow every day by working with them. The quality of people in the program is what makes it so great.

"The people I met during my on-campus interview, from the student athletes, to the other coaches, to the members of the academic community, to administrators, everyone was so sincere and personable. I think that's what makes both of these campuses so special and I'm excited and thankful for the opportunity."