Joe Fusco obit

Hall of Fame football coach Joe Fusco passes away

Fusco coached at Westminster 

He was not on the list.

Joe Fusco, a 2001 College Football Hall of Fame coach and one of the most successful coaches in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) history, passed away on Saturday, Feb. 22. He celebrated his 87th birthday on Feb. 3.

Westminster's head coach from 1972 to 1990, Fusco led the Titans to four NAIA Division II national championships, winning back-to-back national titles in 1976 and '77 and 1988 and '89. The program went a combined 21-1 between the 1976 and '77 seasons and had the nation's longest winning streak with 27-consecutive victories between the 1988 and '89 seasons,. Fusco's 1977 team was honored with the Lambert Trophy, which recognizes supremacy in Eastern college football, after going 11-0, his first undefeated season. Fusco is the College's career wins leader, totaling a 154-34-3 record and win percentage of .814 during his 19 years as head coach.

Fusco was recognized as one ESPN's 150 greatest coaches in college football's 150-year history in 2019 in honor of the 150th season of college football, selected by a blue-ribbon panel of 150 media members, administrators and former players and coaches, that spanned more than a century of the sport.

A native of Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, Fusco was honored as Westminster's Letterman of Distinction in 2012, becoming just the fifth former student-athlete to receive the prestigious honor, joining legends David B. Fawcett '29, Dr. Harold E. Burry '35, C.G. "Buzz" Ridl '42 and Chester P. "Chet" Claire '49.

An All-West Penn Conference (WPC) lineman for Coach Burry and the Titans from 1957 to 1959, Fusco was granted a bachelor's degree in history in 1960 and a Master of Education (MEd) degree in education in 1965. In 1980 Fusco earned a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Education from the University of Pittsburgh.

Fusco started his coaching career at nearby Wilmington and Grove City High Schools, where he posted a 55-14-3 record from 1960 to 1967, before joining Coach Burry's staff as an offensive line coach in 1968. After serving as an assistant over the next four years, helping the Titans to the 1970 national championship, he began a head coaching career that included nine NAIA national playoff appearances and 15 NAIA Division II Top 20 finishes.

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

Details on memorial services are pending and will be released when they become available.