Minnesota State announced Monday that head coach Mike Hastings has agreed to a new eight-year contract with the school.
Hastings recently completed his third year with the Mavericks in 2014-15.
“We are pleased to offer Coach Hastings this contract,” said Minnesota State director of athletics Kevin Buisman in a news release. “During his time here, Mike has been one of the most successful coaches in all of college hockey and a real game changer for our program. The performance on and off the ice has been exemplary and he has been a great ambassador not only for Minnesota State athletics and Maverick hockey, but for the entire university. We are indeed very fortunate to have someone of Coach Hastings caliber leading our program and we are happy to reward those efforts with this type of long-term contract.”
With a 79-36-7 mark since the 2012-13 season, including three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, no team in the nation has more wins in the past three years.
“I would like to thank President Richard Davenport as well as the entire administration for the opportunity to continue to guide the men’s hockey program here at Minnesota State University,” added Hastings. “From my first day in Mankato to present day the support from the university, community, my staff and players has been outstanding. Our family has become part of Mankato and are fortunate to call it home. I look forward to leading our student-athletes in continued development on the ice, in the classroom and overall pursuit of excellence.”
The Mavericks won the Broadmoor Trophy as WCHA playoff champions for the second consecutive year, while a 21-4-3 league mark gave the school its first MacNaughton Cup as conference regular-season champs. Hastings was named WCHA Coach of the Year for the second time (he also won the award in his first year with the program in 2012-13) and was the recipient of the Spencer Penrose Award as the AHCA National Coach of the Year.
“I believe Coach Hastings is very worthy of the investment we are making, as we have enjoyed an unparalleled level of success in men’s hockey during his first three years with the program,” said Davenport in a statement. “Mike’s efforts have resulted in positive notoriety for the University not only competitively, but in the classroom, and the community, as well. As such, I was personally vested in the negotiation process, as I wanted to signal not only my appreciation, but to further indicate the importance of hockey as one of the flagships of a very successful athletic program. By way of this contract and other improvements we have made to the hockey program, I believe we have demonstrated our institution’s commitment and hope that others will follow that lead as we strive to sustain this type of excellence over the long haul.”
Prior to his arrival at Minnesota State in the summer of 2012, Hastings had a three-year stint as the associate head coach at Nebraska-Omaha. He also served as an assistant coach at Minnesota for one season and before that, had a 14-year run as head coach of the United States Hockey League’s Omaha Lancers, where left as the league’s all-time winningest coach.
