Mike Lane will enter his eighth season as the head coach of the NJIT women’s basketball program during the 2025–26 campaign, having been named the 12th head coach in program history in May 2018. Under his leadership, the Highlanders have steadily progressed within Division I and the America East Conference, achieving several program milestones. During the 2025–26 season, NJIT opened with the best start in program history at 7–2, continuing a trend of competitive growth. In 2024–25, the Highlanders recorded their fourth consecutive double-digit win season and finished one win shy of the America East record, while producing multiple all-conference honorees including Rookie of the Year Olivia Kulyk.
Lane has guided NJIT to some of its most successful Division I seasons, including a 15–15 record in 2021–22, the second-highest win total since the program transitioned to Division I. That season also marked NJIT’s first America East postseason victory and the hosting of its first-ever conference quarterfinal game. Prior to NJIT, Lane spent six seasons as the top assistant coach at Bucknell University, where he helped lead the Bison to three straight 20-win seasons, a Patriot League championship, and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017. He previously served as the head coach at Dominican University, earning Northern Athletics Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2011, and began his collegiate coaching career at the University of Chicago. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Lane holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and brings more than two decades of coaching experience to the NJIT program.
