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GLASSBORO – Jay Accorsi stepped down as head coach of the Rowan University football program on Friday, according to the school.
Accorsi compiled a 143-78 record over his 22 years at the helm, retiring as the all-time winningest and longest-tenured coach (30 years total) in the program’s history.
He guided the Profs to seven shared or outright New Jersey Athletic Conference title and his teams earned seven playoff appearances in the NCAA Division III championship.
Under Accorsi, Rowan reached the NCAA semifinals twice in 2004 and 2005, went 103-54 in NJAC games and compiled a .500 record or better in 17 of the last 22 years.
“In the spring of 2002, I was bestowed the honor of becoming the seventh head football coach of the program. I am thankful to then-president Donald Farish, vice president Drew Calandrella and athletic director Joy Solomen. They had enough faith and thankfully saw something in a young, unproven coach from New England,” said Accorsi in a press release. “I cannot begin to thank the countless people I have encountered in my wonderful 30-year journey here at Rowan University. Especially the coaches, athletic training and equipment staff and administrators in our athletic department. I wish them all nothing but the best. I would be remiss though, if I did not mention ‘the’ coach – Coach Richard Wackar. He had a profound effect on me personally and on my career.”
Rowan went 5-5 last fall, including a 4-2 mark in the NJAC, during Accorsi’s final season.
“Jay Accorsi has led Rowan Football with great integrity for the last 22 years. He emphasized character and academics, holding student-athletes accountable and caring for them in a way that positively affected hundreds of lives. He always worked at having his teams represent Rowan in a first-class manner,” said director of athletics Dr. John Giannini. “Jay has also been a great colleague to everyone in Rowan Athletics. We are grateful for Coach Accorsi’s leadership and service and wish him the best in his next chapter of life with his wonderful family – wife, Nancy and children, Gabrielle, Rachel and Jack.”
A native of Somers, Connecticut, Accorsi received NJAC Coach of the Year honors five times (2014, 2013, 2005, 2004, 2002) and the Maxwell Football Club Tri-State Coach of the Year award in 2005.
Accorsi led the Profs off the field as well, as the team was very active in the community, partnering with the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation as well as the Boys and Girls Club of Glassboro. With that commitment, Rowan Athletics was honored as the recipient of the Dr. Harry Gamble Coaches Award by the Adam Taliaferro Foundation.
Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.
2024-04-12 20:24:14
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