Muff Steps Down as Coach at Crespi; Marek Fills Post

Paul Muff said Tuesday that he has resigned as Crespi High’s basketball coach and has been succeeded by Ed Marek, his assistant and former player.

Muff, 39, will remain at the school as athletic director and will assume increased administrative responsibilities such as fund-raising for the athletic department, he said.

“It was a tough decision but it feels good that we’re keeping the job in the family,” he said, referring to Marek. “Seeing guys I coached take over makes me feel good, but it also makes me feel old.”

In his 13 seasons as coach, Muff’s teams compiled a 197-117 record and won four Del Rey League titles. Muff also coached for two seasons at Mt. Carmel High in Los Angeles and resigns with a 237-122 career record. Crespi was 10-11 and finished second in league play at 5-3 last season.

Crespi ranked as one of the Valley area’s top programs in the early part of the decade, reaching the quarterfinal round of the Southern Section playoffs five times from 1980 to 1986. Prominent players from those teams included Joe Carrabino, a 1980 graduate who played at Harvard, Chris Nikchevich (‘82, Brigham Young, Loyola Marymount) and Mike Yoest (‘84, Loyola Marymount).

Nikchevich will join Marek’s staff as an assistant. Marek played on Muff’s first team at Crespi in 1976-77 and was the team MVP. He has coached at Crespi for five years, including two as Muff’s assistant. In his two years as junior varsity coach and one year with the sophomores, Marek’s teams never lost a league game.

Marek, who also served as a graduate assistant at University of Virginia, is a walk-on coach who works across the street from Crespi at an Encino real estate company.

He is the second new coach hired at Crespi this year. Football Coach Tim Lins was hired to replace Bill Redell, who retired after five seasons.

“I feel good about the young people we have as coaches,” Muff said. “Our enrollment has gone down from 720 to about 550 but we’re committed to staying right here.”