Montclair State University Athletics

Arriving at Montclair State in January of 1988, Norm Schoenig had some big shoes to fill. Taking over for Kevin Cooney, Schoenig inherited a team that had just won the NCAA Division III national championship. Fast forward nearly a quarter-century later and those shoes fit pretty nicely. In the history of athletics at Montclair State, no coach has won more games than Norm Schoenig. Entering his 25th season in 2012, Schoenig has won a staggering 681 games with a winning percentage at 65 percent that ranks him among the best in Division III history. A former player for Clary Anderson in the 1970s, Schoenig and Montclair State baseball have become synonymous as he took what was an already storied program and elevated it to one of the elite programs in all of Division III. Six years after taking over the reins, which included a conference championship and six NCAA Tournament appearances, Schoenig led Montclair State to its second national championship as the 1993 Red Hawks won their final nine games, including all five contests at the World Series in Battle Creek, Michigan capped off by a 3-1 win over Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the championship game. Schoenig would be named the NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year. Over the next four years, the man they call “Moose” would lead MSU to two more NJAC titles and four NCAA Tournaments along the way surpassing Bill Dioguardi as the all-time winningest coach in program history with his 291st victory in 1997. Three years later, he would orchestrate the greatest season in Montclair State baseball history as the 2000 team went 42-7-1, setting the single-season mark for wins. That memorable season, which featured a comeback from a 10-0 deficit in the NCAA Regional Tournament, ended with the Red Hawks third national championship as MSU became the first team in 15 years to win the title after losing its first game of the World Series. Schoenig would again be named the NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year. The remainder of Schoenig’s numbers are impressive – five NJAC championships; seven NCAA regional titles, 17 regional tournament appearances as well as seven appearances in the NCAA Division III World Series winning a total of 69 NCAA contests. A five-time NJAC Coach of the Year, he has been named Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year seven times. Schoenig has led Montclair State to seven of the Top 10 single-season win totals, including the aforementioned 42 victories in addition to capturing 30 or more wins in a season eight times. During his tenure, there have been 18 players named Division III All-America, including Hall of Famer John Deutsch in 1989. Under Schoenig’s watch, 13 players have been taken in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft with numerous others signing professional contracts.