Nov. 23, 2007
It's hardly news anymore. Wherever Tom Masella goes, the Ws and the championships follow.
Fordham University is the latest beneficiary of the Masella touch. The former Tottenville HS and Wagner College star has picked up in the Bronx where he left off in New Britain at Central Connecticut -- and before that, as defensive coordinator at Massachusetts (2003, Atlantic 10) and Louisiana Tech (2001, Western Athletic Conference).
The Rams, 8-3 overall and 5-1 in the Patriot League, won the first outright Patriot League title for any team since 2003 and earned their first playoff bid since 2002.
For those who are counting, that's five conference championships in seven years for the former Great Kills resident who is one of 16 finalists for the Eddie Robinson Award, given annually to the Division I FCS coach of the year.
Fordham was 2-9 in 2005, the season before Masella arrived. He was fresh from back-to-back Northeast Conference championships at Central Connecticut which hadn't had a winning season in 15 years and was 10-21-2 in the three seasons before he took the program off life support.
The turnaround took a little longer in the Bronx: Fordham went 3-8 in 2006, Masella's first season.
For Jack Minogue's complete article from The Staten Island (N.Y.) Advance click here
For more coverage on Fordham's first-round NCAA Division I Football Championship game at Massachusetts on Saturday, read the Fordham-Massachusetts newspaper articles
