Joe Fusco
| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
February 3, 1938 Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania |
| Playing career | |
| 1957–1959 | Westminster (PA) |
| Position(s) | Guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1968–1971 | Westminster (PA) (assistant) |
| 1972–1990 | Westminster (PA) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall |
154–34–3 (college) 55–14–3 (high school) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 4 NAIA Division II (1976–1977, 1988–1989) | |
|
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 2001 (profile) | |
Joe Fusco (born February 3, 1938) is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head coach at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania from 1972 to 1990, compiling a record of 154–34–3. Fusco was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2001.
Fusco had a lifetime association with Westminster College. He was guard on the football team from 1957 to 1959, assistant coach from 1968 to 1971, head coach from 1972 to 1990, and director of athletics from 1985 to 1999. His other coaching duties were at Wilmington and Grove City, Pennsylvania high schools, where he had a 55–14–3 record from 1960 to 1967. In 19 years at Westminster, his team was in the NAIA top 20 15 times, in the NAIA playoffs nine times, had a 27-game winning streak, and won four NAIA Division II National Championships. The national titles came 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 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 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.