BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Canisius President Steve K. Stoute said best, "Today is a great day to be a Griff."
Taking in the audience as he introduced Jim Christian as the new head coach for the Canisius men's basketball team. Christian is a proven leader who has 19 years of experience as a Division I head coach.
"They're going to see high energy; I think they're going to see a person who loves what they do, a person who is proud and happy to be here," said Christian.
In addition to changes to the men's program, Canisius hired Tiffany Swoffard just a few weeks later to take over the women's basketball team.
"What they can expect from me as a coach is that I will be engaged and up-tempo. We're going to play an up-tempo style," said Swoffard.
Each coach is using their coaching style to revamp their rosters.
On the men's side, Christian took over the program with just two players returning from last season.
"We had to basically recruit a whole new team. We had ten available scholarships, and you try to find the right kind of kids who are going to fit with what you're trying to do," said Christian.
As for the women, Swoffard says she inherited five players and looks forward to building on what she describes as a strong foundation.
"They're five solid kids that I'm excited about. They love Canisius; they love what this program is doing and the energy they're bringing to it," said Swoffard.
Both new hires have created a name for themselves and have hired the right staff to assist them in recruiting the best players, but as with any program, 2024 college athletics comes with the same challenges.
"There's always 9 or 10 or 8, whatever the number is of people going into the portal and seeing what opportunities are available to them," said Christian.
The numbers speak for themselves: Over 2,400 players in the NCAA men's and women's basketball programs have entered the transfer portal since March.
Instead of viewing the transfer portal as an obstacle, the Griffs' staff see it as an opportunity.
"There are a lot of students on the transfer portal, so I'm thankful for that. Understanding how we can utilize relationships previously that we've had for finding the right piece for us now," said Swoffard.
Canisius basketball's current state involves a women's team coming off a winning season to maintain success and a men's team trying to end a five-year losing drought.
However, the two coaches work together to bring excitement and success to Canisius Basketball.
"You bond together because everybody has to do everything they can to be successful without the greatest resources; we all know that. I would do anything to help her, and she would do anything to help our program, so it's been really fun," said Chrisitan.
