Mihalich coached several players at La Salle who would go on to play professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA); including Simmons, Doug Overton, Randy Woods and Tim Legler.

Mihalich literally was raised up the street from the La Salle campus, on Chew Avenue in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia.

His late father, Joseph C. Mihalich, was a pitcher in the New York Yankees farm system in the late 1940s, rooming with Whitey Ford before arm troubles sent him on the road to college studies and La Salle, where the elder Mihalich became a professor in philosophy, carving an academic niche in the subject of sports philosophy, while his son, Joseph A., played for Westhead before starting his coaching career.

He moved to the Maryland suburbs of Washington after graduation to be an assistant at DeMatha High School to legendary coach Morgan Wootten.

[7] Mihalich took his first head coaching opportunity by the horns and became the most steady program in the MAAC, earning a slew of honors, awards and postseason appearances in his 15 years at the helm of Niagara.

Mihalich himself said "I played for Paul Westhead in college, coached with Morgan Wooten and Speedy Morris I think the up-tempo style is fun.

After a nationwide search, on April 10, 2013, Hofstra University President Stuart Rabinowitz and Athletic Director Jeffrey Hathaway announced the hire of Mihalich.