Rich Mueller begins his fifth season as the head men's golf coach at Columbia University, and doubles as the director of golf at Columbia. Mueller has revamped the Lions' golf program into a prominent force in the Ivy League, and has led the men's squad to Ivy League Championships and appearances in the NCAA Regionals in each of the last two seasons.

In 2009, the Lions roared back from a three-stroke deficit on the final day to claim their second straight Ivy League Championship. Current junior Clark Granum led the way with a tie for fifth place individually, as he was named to the All-Ivy League first team for the second straight year.

In August of 2005, just after being named the men and women's golf coach at Columbia, Rich Mueller said, "There is enormous potential at Columbia to build a nationally-recognized golf program.  With support from an internationally successful alumni base, our program can continue to improve and grow quickly."

Three years later, Mueller guided the men's program to its first Ivy League championship since 1999 and an NCAA appearance. The Lions were in the Ivy League championships hunt until the final day in 2007, finishing third, setting the stage for the Columbia title in 2008. His premonition of building a national contender is rapidly coming to fruition.

In his highly-successful first year with Columbia, the golf program won three tournaments and Mueller was honored as the 2006 Mid-Atlantic Regional Coach of the Year by the Golf Coaches Association of America.  The men's team also posted its then-best finish at the Ivy League Championships since 1999, finishing a stroke behind Princeton for second place.  

In November of 2006, the women's four freshmen were ranked fourth in the nation according to Golfstat's freshmen impact rating. The women's team went on to win the 2007 Ivy League Championship in only its fourth year of varsity play.

Mueller came to Columbia after spending five years as the head golf coach at New York University, where he led the program to its first two NCAA Championship appearances in 2004 and 2005. The Violets finished a best-ever 21st in 2005, after a 23rd-place finish in 2004. For his efforts, Mueller was named the University Athletic Association Coach of the Year in 2004 and was selected as the Northeast Region Coach of the Year in 2005 by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).

At NYU, Mueller's program also succeeded away from the course, as six student-athletes were named Academic All-Americans during his five-year tenure.

Mueller, a Class A PGA professional, is also a member of the GCAA, USGA, and the AJGA. Additionally, he has served on the GCAA All-America Scholar, NCAA Division III Men's Golf and the ECAC Division III men's golf committees. Currently, he serves on the NCAA Division I women's golf committee.

A 1999 graduate of NYU and a four-year member of the Violets' golf team, Mueller received the team's "Iron Horse" Award as a junior for his consistent play, and earned team MVP honors as a senior captain. He also received a master's degree in higher education administration from his alma mater in January 2005.

A native of Greenlawn, N.Y., Mueller also teaches a recreational golf class. He enjoys being a member of the badminton club at Columbia and is also a musician who frequently appears in New York City venues. He and his wife Serena live on Morningside Heights near Columbia's campus.