William John Russo (June 19, 1947 – September 29, 2021)[1] was an American college football coach. He served as the head football at Wagner College from 1978 to 1980 and at Lafayette College from 1981 to 1999. In 23 seasons as a head coach, Russo compiled a 118–113–4 overall record.[2] In 1988, 1992 and 1994 Russo coached the Lafayette Leopards to outright Patriot League conference titles. Russo received the Eddie Robinson Award in 1988, which is given annually to the nation's top coach in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). Russo's 103 wins at Lafayette are the most of any head coach in the program's history.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 19, 1947 New York, New York, U.S. |
| Died | September 29, 2021 (aged 74) Asheville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Brown University |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1969–1977 | Brown (assistant) |
| 1978–1980 | Wagner |
| 1981–1999 | Lafayette |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 118–113–4 |
| Tournaments | 0–1 (NCAA D-III playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 3 Patriot (1988, 1992, 1994) | |
| Awards | |
| Eddie Robinson Award (1988) ECAC Coach of the Year (1981) AFCA Kodak Coach of the Year (1981) | |
Russo is most notable for comforting a crying Lafayette football player after the loss to Lehigh during the 1998 Rivalry game.
Head coaching record
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | NCAA# | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wagner Seahawks (NCAA Division III independent) (1978–1980) | |||||||||
| 1978 | Wagner | 2–8 | |||||||
| 1979 | Wagner | 5–5 | |||||||
| 1980 | Wagner | 8–2 | L NCAA Division III Quarterfinal | ||||||
| Wagner: | 15–15 | ||||||||
| Lafayette Leopards (NCAA Division I-AA independent) (1981–1985) | |||||||||
| 1981 | Lafayette | 9–2 | 8 | ||||||
| 1982 | Lafayette | 7–3 | 20 | ||||||
| 1983 | Lafayette | 6–5 | |||||||
| 1984 | Lafayette | 5–5 | |||||||
| 1985 | Lafayette | 6–5 | |||||||
| Lafayette Leopards (Patriot League) (1986–1999) | |||||||||
| 1986 | Lafayette | 6–5 | 2–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1987 | Lafayette | 4–7 | 2–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1988 | Lafayette | 8–2–1 | 5–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1989 | Lafayette | 5–5 | 2–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1990 | Lafayette | 4–7 | 1–4 | 5th | |||||
| 1991 | Lafayette | 6–5 | 3–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1992 | Lafayette | 8–3 | 5–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1993 | Lafayette | 5–4–2 | 3–1–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1994 | Lafayette | 5–6 | 5–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1995 | Lafayette | 4–6–1 | 3–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1996 | Lafayette | 5–5 | 2–2 | 4th | |||||
| 1997 | Lafayette | 3–8 | 2–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 1998 | Lafayette | 3–8 | 3–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1999 | Lafayette | 4–7 | 2–4 | T–5th | |||||
| Lafayette: | 103–98–4 | 40–29–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 118–113–4 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
References
edit- ^ Trumbauer, Tyler. "Former Lafayette coach Russo passes away". WFMZ.com. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
- ^ DeLassus, David. "Bill Russo Records by Year". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on February 14, 2010. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
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