Joseph B. Fusco (born February 3, 1938) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head coach at Westminster College in

New Wilmington, Pennsylvania New Wilmington is a borough in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, first platted in 1824 and established as a borough on April 9, 1863. The population was 2,097 at the 2020 census. It is home to Westminster College and serves the Old O ...

from 1972 to 1990, compiling a record of 154–34–3. Fusco was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

as a coach in 2001. Fusco had a lifetime association with Westminster College. He was

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

on the football team from 1957 to 1959, assistant coach from 1968 to 1971, head coach from 1972 to 1990, and

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

from 1985 to 1999. His other coaching duties were at Wilmington Area High School and Grove City Area Area High School, where he had a 55–14–3 record from 1960 to 1967. In 19 years at Westminster, his teams were ranked in the NAIA top 20 15 times, made in the NAIA Division II playoffs nine times, had a 27-game winning streak, and won four NAIA Division II Football National Championships, in 1976, 1977, 1988, and 1989. His record as head coach at Westminster was 154–34–3, a winning percentage of .814. His 1977 team won the

Lambert Cup The Lambert Trophy is an annual award given to the best team in the East in Division I FBS (formerly I-A) college football. In affiliation with the Metropolitan New York Football Writers (founded 1935), the Lambert Trophy was established by brother ...

as the best small-college team in the East. Fusco graduated from Westminster in 1960, added a master's degree in education in 1965 and a doctorate in education from the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

in 1980. In addition to the College Football Hall of Fame, Fusco is in the Italian American Sports Hall of Fame, Western Pennsylvania Hall of Fame, Lawrence County Hall of Fame, and NAIA Hall of Fame.

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

* 1938 births Living people Westminster Titans athletic directors Westminster Titans football coaches Westminster Titans football players High school football coaches in Pennsylvania College Football Hall of Fame inductees University of Pittsburgh alumni People from Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania {{1970s-collegefootball-coach-stub