STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Wagner College Athletics announced the appointment of Jim Engles as Director of Golf, overseeing the men's and women's golf programs. 

A Staten Island native, Engles brings 35 years of NCAA Division I coaching and program-building experience to the role, along with a lifelong dedication to the game of golf.

Engles returns to Wagner, where he began his coaching career in 1991 as an assistant men's basketball coach. He went on to a 35-year career in Division I basketball, most recently serving nine seasons (2016-2025) as head men's basketball coach at Columbia University, and eight seasons (2008-2016) as head men's basketball coach and assistant athletic director at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT).

"I'm thrilled to come back to Wagner and to build something new here in golf," said Engles. "This program gave me my start, and as a Staten Island native, there's something special about bringing my career back home. I'm excited to bring the same discipline, relationship-building, and competitive standards that defined my basketball career to developing our student-athletes and this golf program."

Engles holds an M.B.A. in Finance from Wagner College (1997) and a B.A. in Political Science from Dickinson College (1990).

Engles will begin his new role immediately, working to build the culture, recruiting pipeline, and competitive standard for Wagner golf that he established across three decades on the basketball sideline.