Aaron Muhic, who has more than 21 years of head basketball coaching experience in the United States, has taken on a new professional adventure — coaching in Canada.
The United States Sports Academy alumnus is currently rebuilding the men’s basketball program at Trinity Western University (TWU).
Muhic, a Sacramento, Calif., native, earned his Master of Sports Science degree in sports coaching from the Academy in 1996. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Oregon University, where he played college basketball for four years.
“The United States Sports Academy gave me practical experience, a solid education, and the opportunity to network with other professionals in my field,” Muhic said.
“The Academy, being a sports-only school, helped me focus and get a job in the field that I loved. I recommend the Sports Academy all the time to people I talk to about getting a master’s degree.
“Having classes online was a blessing because I was able to work and serve in my mentorship while getting my classes done,” he said. “The overall program was invaluable to me as a coach and sports professional.”
Muhic was hired by TWU – a Christian university in Langley, British Columbia – in 2014 after spending 13 seasons as the head men’s basketball coach at William Jessup University in Rocklin, Calif. At age 25, Muhic was named head coach at Warner Pacific College in Portland, Ore. He also made coaching stops at San Jose Christian College and Glen Oaks College in Michigan.
“I love TWU. It provides a great education and gives our students many opportunities to develop themselves as people,” Muhic said.
“We are in the rebuilding process with our basketball team. We are climbing the ladder of success.
“I know that we are going to be really good this next year. I absolutely love my job for the simple fact that I get to teach basketball at a high level and get to help our players grow as men.”
Muhic was a multi-sport athlete as a child, but he said he gravitated toward basketball at a young age.
“I started playing basketball in junior high and fell in love with the game,” Muhic said. “As a young guy I played baseball, football, basketball, track, wrestling and cross country. But basketball was my absolute favorite and my first love. I was blessed to play on some very good high school teams and compete at the college level.
“When I got done playing I started coaching at the community college level. It was very special time to me because I got to coach my brother. I have served as an athletic director, assistant-athletic director, sports information director, fundraiser, and instructor.”
A native of Alaska, Muhic played basketball at East Anchorage High School before moving on to Eastern Oregon University. He began his coaching career in 1993 as an assistant basketball coach at Pierce College in Tacoma, Wash.
“My greatest professional accomplishment was winning the Cal Pac Championship and qualifying for the NAIA national tournament with William Jessup University because we made the transition to the NAIA and in four short years we were competing for our conference championship consistently,” he said.
“I am also very proud of the fact that we graduated more than 90 percent of our players in my coaching career. My career goal is to help college basketball players develop as men, get an education while using basketball as a platform to promote our school. And along those lines I would also like to lead our team to a championship in the near future.”
