Andruzzi Named Head Women's Basketball Coach
 |
| Cathy Andruzzi |
Cathy Andruzzi was named head women's basketball coach at Fordham on May 18. She comes to the Rams from Seton Hall University, where she was the assistant women's basketball coach last year. She is a hall of fame inductee as both a player and coach, and helped to pioneer the airing of women's basketball on television.
“I am thrilled to have this opportunity to lead the women's basketball program at a university as academically outstanding and rich with athletic tradition as Fordham,” said Andruzzi, who has more than 25 years of experience in women's basketball as a player, coach, educator and administrator. “The University’s administration is strongly committed to the women's basketball program and I am excited about our future. And I am especially pleased to be part of the Atlantic 10 conference, a league with a strong history in women's basketball.”
Andruzzi, a Staten Island, N.Y., native, got her start as a player on the Queens College team that went 22-5 and soared to the No. 2 ranking nationally in 1972-1973. She and her teammates that season were honored in 2004 as the first women’s team to be inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. She graduated from Queens College, part of the City University of New York, with a degree in health education in 1974.
A leader in bringing women’s basketball to television, Andruzzi was the first women's basketball coach to have a weekly television and radio show, and as a television basketball analyst in 1996-1997, produced the “Women’s Basketball Show” and “The Game of the Week,” a national package of women’s basketball games. She also created the first TV special for the NCAA women's basketball tournament, “The Dial NCAA Women's Tournament Preview Show.”
Andruzzi began her coaching career as the head coach at Wagner College. After two years on Grymes Hill, she moved on to East Carolina University, where in her first season she led the Pirates to the school’s only top-20 national ranking, with an 18-11 record. In her fourth year as coach, Andruzzi led the team to its first and only NCAA Tournament appearance. She also coached the program’s first All-American and pioneered a season-ticket program that broke the school’s previous attendance record for men’s and women’s basketball. Her record with the Pirates earned Andruzzi a spot in the East Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.
Prior to her tenure at Seton Hall, Andruzzi served as an assistant coach at Rutgers University, helping the Scarlet Knights recruit one of the nation's top classes in 2003-2004. She served as the general manager of the American Basketball League’s Philadelphia Rage from 1997 to 2000, and as the executive director of Philadelphia Women's Basketball 2000, the local organizing committee for the 2000 NCAA Women’s Final Four. Under Andruzzi’s leadership, the Final Four had one of the largest fund-raising campaigns in women’s basketball history, and brought national accolades for the city of Philadelphia.
“We are excited that Cathy Andruzzi has accepted our invitation to join the Rams,” said Frank McLaughlin (FCRH ’69), Fordham’s executive director of athletics. “She brings a tremendous resume, with experience as a player, teacher, coach and administrator, and we look forward to benefiting from that experience here at Fordham.”
Alumnus Pledges $1 Million to Fordham Baseball
Jim Houlihan (CBA ’74) and his family have pledged $1 million to Fordham University’s baseball program to name the newly renovated baseball complex the Houlihan Family Ballpark at Jack Coffey Field.
“This is a family gift to my alma mater and old neighborhood,” said Houlihan, managing partner of Houlihan-Parnes/ICAP Realty Advisors LLC, who was raised and educated in the Bronx, along with his three brothers and two sisters. “My brothers and sisters and I got together and decided to make a charitable gift in our parents’ honor.”
Houlihan pitched for the Rams from 1971 to 1973, and his brother Jack Houlihan (CBA ’75), a catcher, played from 1972 to 1975. His mother, sister-in-law and three uncles are all Fordham graduates. His niece, Ellen Houlihan, is currently a full-time student at Fordham College at Rose Hill.
Masella Named Rams’ Head Football Coach
Tom Masella, who most recently served as head coach at Central Connecticut State University, was named head football coach at Fordham University in December. In Masella’s two-year tenure at Central Connecticut, he led the Blue Devils to two straight Northeast Conference (NEC) titles.
“Fordham University is an excellent academic institution in the greatest city in the world, and I’m thrilled to have this opportunity,” said Masella. “I believe all the resources are here, from the administration to the facilities and the alumni support, to build a winning program.”
In his first year as head coach at Central Connecticut, Masella put together one of the most successful seasons in the program’s history and its first winning season in 17 years. His efforts garnered the team the conference championship and Masella was named NEC Coach of the Year.
University, Congress Note Passing of Wellington T. Mara
 |
| Wellington Mara |
Wellington Mara (FCRH ’37), a longtime friend of the University and one of the most influential owners in professional sports history, died on Oct. 25. He was 89.
In honor of Mara’s extraordinary life and legacy, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure—authored by Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (FCRH ’59, GSAS ’61) of New Jersey—recognizing the profound contributions the legendary New York Giants owner made to his team, the National Football League and the country.
Fordham honored Mara with a moment of silence before a football game with Holy Cross in October. The Rams also honored Mara by wearing his initials on their helmets for the remainder of the season. Mara is survived by his wife, Ann, 11 children, 41 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Back to top
Lombardi Among NCAA’s Most Influential Athletes
The National Collegiate Athletic Association named Fordham University football great Vince Lombardi (FCRH ’37) one of the “100 Most Influential Student-Athletes” in March. During Lombardi’s three years on the varsity football team, the Rams went 16-5-4. He later became a legend in the National Football League, where he coached the Green Bay Packers to victory in the first two Super Bowls ever played. In 1971, one year after his death, Lombardi was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and was among the inaugural class to be inducted into the Fordham Athletics Hall of Fame. The NFL also honored Lombardi by renaming its championship award the Vince Lombardi Super Bowl Trophy.
Back to top
Swimmer Sets Gold Standard for Student-Athletes
 |
| Katie Greiner |
Katie Greiner jumped off the starting blocks of her Fordham career determined to achieve her personal best, whether attacking a lap in the 500-meter freestyle or earning top marks in the classroom.
Greiner, an economics major at Fordham College at Rose Hill, is this year’s recipient of the John Kieran Award for significant contributions to athletics and academics.
“Winning the Kieran award last week is one of my proudest moments,” Greiner said.
The aspiring lawyer has always held her education to be as important as her prowess in the pool. She begins law school this fall at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
“Going to law school has always been something I’ve been thinking about,” said Greiner, whose father is a civil litigator in Cincinnati, Ohio. “So I knew how important doing well academically would be to my future.”
Greiner’s athletic talent had an immediate impact on Fordham’s swim team. During her freshman year, she became the Rams’ first female swimmer ever to take first place in an Atlantic 10 Championship, which she did in the 500-meter freestyle in the 2003 competition. That same year, Greiner broke the Fordham school record in the 500-meter freestyle.
Most days, swimming practice starts before the sun is up, but Greiner never found it difficult to stay motivated to excel in the classroom.
“Swimming teaches self-discipline,” she said, “and you have to have good time-management skills.”
A little friendly competition from her fellow economics majors didn’t hurt either, added Greiner, who also appreciated Fordham’s diverse student population.
“In Cincinnati, the population is very segregated along racial and economic lines,” Greiner said, “but at Fordham people are from all different backgrounds. I’ve had a chance to build friendships with a diverse group of people in my time here.”
Back to top
Tennis Captain an Ace On and Off Court
 |
| Phil Bednarczyk |
If tennis players are supposed to spend all their spare time at the country club, someone must have forgotten to tell Phil Bednarczyk. The three-year co-captain of the men’s tennis team devoted his time not only to his team, but to service commitments in the Bronx and Guyana.
Bednarczyk held the number one squash and number four singles tennis positions for the Rams, and was named the 2005-2006 most valuable player in men’s tennis.
A native of Hamden, Conn., Bednarczyk comes from a Fordham family—both his father and uncle are alumni. He began playing pick-up tennis at a young age and got involved in community service early on as well.
“I was in a service club in high school,” said Bednarczyk, “and Fordham gave me the chance to further that experience.”
The two interests found an outlet in Bednarczyk’s tireless participation in City Squash, an urban enrichment program for Bronx students from nearby Middle School 45. Bednarczyk devoted several days a week, and many weekends, to providing the students with squash instruction and academic tutoring.
Through Fordham’s Global Outreach program, Bednarczyk made two trips to Guyana, where the group volunteered in a leper colony outside of the city of Georgetown.
“The people there are ostracized from society, they’re outcasts,” Bednarczyk said. “Their lives are very isolated, so the most important thing we did for them was just being there for them to talk to. We spent time with them doing whatever they wanted to do.”
Bednarczyk, a dean’s list student, majored in international political economy and minored in business and African American Studies at Fordham College at Rose Hill. He sees graduate school in his future, but first he plans to move to Moscow, where he will teach English.
Back to top
|
