One of the newest members of the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Norm Schoenig was inducted into that prestigious club on January 6, 2017, in Anaheim, California.
ABCA Hall of Fame Class of 2017 story
Schoenig’s accomplishments certainly warrant his Hall of Fame induction. The ABCA Hall of Famer, who returns for his third season as an assistant coach at Rutgers-Camden, was the head coach at New Jersey Athletic Conference rival Montclair State University for 26 years, stepping down in 2014 following hip surgery. After taking over the Red Hawks’ program in 1988, as the 10th head coach in MSU history, he compiled a stellar 724-409-11 (.637) record, including NCAA Division III championships in 1993 and 2000. His team also finished as the national runner-up in 1998 and earned a third-place showing in 2001.
From 1998-2001, the Red Hawks posted an amazing 143-47-1 (.751) record, including a 62-10 mark in the NJAC. On the way to their 2000 national title, they posted the best single-season mark in program history (42-7-1).
Overall, he led Montclair State to seven NCAA Division III Baseball Championship berths and he is still the winningest coach in MSU baseball history.
Schoenig’s Red Hawks captured five New Jersey Athletic Conference championships, produced 18 All-Americans and had 15 players sign professional contracts. Between 1998-2001, the Red Hawks fashioned a stellar 143-47-1 record, which included the 2000 national championship season that saw Montclair State post a program record for wins during a 42-7-1 campaign.
Out of his 724 career victories, 315 came in conference play as he became the first baseball coach ever to win 300 NJAC contests, a feat since matched by only one other coach. His final NJAC record was 315-135-1.
A two-time ABCA/Diamond NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year, Schoenig is one of only three Red Hawk coaches to be active when they were inducted into the Montclair State Athletics Hall of Fame. He earned that honor in 2011.
Schoenig, a lifetime ABCA member, also served several years on the NCAA Division III Baseball Committee. He served on numerous ABCA committees and was a member of the ABCA Board of Directors.
Prior to taking over the head coaching job at Montclair State, Schoenig served as an assistant coach for the Red Hawks under Fred Hill, who later served as the long-time head coach at Rutgers-New Brunswick.
During his two seasons at Rutgers-Camden, Schoenig has helped the Scarlet Raptors compile a 50-31 record overall, while competing against a schedule packed with many of the top Division III teams in the nation. The Scarlet Raptors are 23-13 over those two seasons in NJAC play and captured the 2015 regular-season conference title.
