Thursday, December 13, 2007
WEST HAVEN, Conn. -- University of New Haven President Steven H. Kaplan and Director of Athletics Deborah Chin introduced Peter Rossomando as the university's next head football coach at a press conference Thursday in UNH's Alumni Lounge & Conference Center. Rossomando, 35, becomes the ninth head coach in program history and officially begins his duties at UNH on January 1, 2008. He will lead the Chargers back onto the field when football resumes play as a member of the Northeast-10 Conference in 2009.
For the last seven seasons, Rossomando has been on the coaching staff at University at Albany - a member of the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS, formerly Division I-AA). Serving under program founder and 35-year head coach Bob Ford, Peter has served as associate head coach, offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for the last three campaigns. Rossomando has 14 seasons of highly-successful college coaching experience under his belt, and kicked off his career with a five-year stint at the University of New Haven from 1994 to 1998. The Chargers were 41-14-1 in Rossomando's first go-round with the Chargers, when he was a member of head coach Tony Sparano's staff that went to the 1997 NCAA Division II Championship game and the 1995 NCAA playoffs.
"I'm extremely happy with our decision to hire Peter Rossomando as the next head coach in UNH football history," said University of New Haven President Steven H. Kaplan. "In the past few years, the University has realized a remarkable transformation and will continue this growth with our entrance into the prestigious Northeast-10 Conference. Peter is an excellent coach with an impressive resume who is going to be an inspiration for us. He understands that student-athletes are more than just players, but they are members of our community as well. We are confident he will lead a highly-successful football program that will make the entire UNH community proud."
Director of Athletics Deborah Chin noted during the press conference, "We had a number of well-qualified candidates and this was not an easy decision. But as we progressed through the interview process, it became apparent to our entire selection committee that Peter was a rising star and the perfect choice to re-start our program. It was important for us to find a head coach that was well-prepared in all facets of running a program, not only on the sidelines. He is going to be excellent at recruiting well-rounded student-athletes that will make us proud on and off the field, as well as engaging our large and interested base of alumni and fans."
"I was lucky enough to work at UAlbany under a head coach that has been at the same school for 35 years," Rossomando said during the press conference. "And one of the things that Tony Sparano taught me is if you find the right place, with the right people, you can stay forever. Today I've found the right place, and I think we've found the right people for our program to be successful."
During Rossomando's tenure at UAlbany (2001-2007), the Great Danes posted a 46-32 overall record and a 36-12 mark (.750) in the Northeast Conference (NEC). He helped lead UA to three NEC championships (2002, 2003, 2007) and the 2002 ECAC title. As NEC champions this fall, UAlbany played Pioneer League champs Dayton for the mid-major national championship and rose as high as No. 3 in both the Sports Network and Football Gazette Division I FCS Mid-Major polls.
While at UAlbany, Rossomando coached several NCAA FCS mid-major All-Americans, including Geir Gudmundsen, Mike Laroche, Brandon Shaw, Aaron Kimball, Jacob Anderson, Jacob Hobbs and Sam Pagano. Gudmundsen, who was on the 2004 AFCA All-America First Team, and Hobbs went on to sign professionally as NFL free agents with Buffalo and Philadelphia, respectively. UAlbany has had ten linemen selected First Team All-NEC under Rossomando's tutelage.
In 2007, UAlbany was 8-4 overall and ran through the NEC with a 6-0 league record, scoring 39.2 points per game in conference play. The Great Danes rushed for 275 yards per game and averaged 413 yards of total offense in NEC play, while leading the conference in total offense and turnover margin. Rossomando's offensive unit came alive in the second half of the 2006 season, averaging 296.0 total yards and 193.7 rushing yards against Northeast Conference opponents. In 2004, the Great Danes ranked seventh nationally in rushing at 254.7 yards per game, plus led the Northeast Conference for the sixth straight year in that category. UAlbany shattered the NEC rushing record with 3,215 yards on the ground the previous year.
UAlbany head football coach Bob Ford said, "Pete is well prepared and ready for this move. He has crossed all the t’s and dotted the i’s. He has a passion for the game and every kid on our squad respected that. He is an outstanding offensive line coach, a solid recruiter, and has grown in his role as offensive coordinator over the last three seasons. I will miss him as a coach and a friend.”
Rossomando served as the offensive coordinator and line coach at SUNY-Cortland prior to taking up his position at UAlbany. He handled weekly game plans, coached the kickoff return and field goal special teams, and recruited New York City and Long Island. He also coached the offensive line and was video coordinator at Division I-AA Northeastern for one season (1999) following his stint at UNH (1994-98).
In his previous stop at UNH, Peter served as both offensive line coach and academic coordinator during his first three seasons with the program. He spent his final two years as the Chargers' defensive line coach and special teams coordinator, and also spent those two seasons as recruiting coordinator. UNH reached the NCAA Division II playoffs in both 1995 and 1997, and won the Lambert Cup Trophy twice.
Sparano, UNH's head coach at the time and now the associate head coach for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, phone in his remarks during the press conference. "I don't need to tell Pete about the University of New Haven, I need to tell all of you (in the room) about our new head coach. Pete has an impressive coaching background and he's a solid recruiter, and he's just the person to lead our program back to where we want it to be. I trusted him with my two sons who played for him up at UAlbany. He is a class guy who is going to make our University of New Haven family proud."
The Chargers saw three offensive linemen named All-ECAC and two on the All-New England squads with Rossomando as their position coach. In Rossomando's first season, 1994, UNH all-time great Roger Graham earned his third all-America honor and rushed for 1,607 yards to narrowly miss winning his second straight Harlon Hill Trophy. During the 1997 national runner-up season, Rossomando was special teams and defensive line coach. He helped lead a defensive unit that recorded 41 sacks during the 10-game regular season, limiting opponents to just 9.8 points per game while recording three shutouts.
From 1990-93, Rossomando played on the offensive and defensive lines at Division I-AA Boston University, where he earned a B.S. in clinical exercise physiology. The Terriers won the 1993 Yankee Conference championship with an undefeated record. Sparano was offensive coordinator at Boston University during Rossomando's time with the Terriers.
"There's a lot of work to be done," Rossomando said, "but I'll be out on the road recruiting as soon as possible to get players on campus. And we'll find the students who are already here that can play for us, be ready to hit the practice field next fall and then play our first game in 2009."
A native of Staten Island, N.Y., Rossomando received All-America and all-state scholastic honors and was the 1989 Staten Island Player of the Year. He and his wife, Jessica, have three children, Reese, Gianna and Nicholas.
ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN FOOTBALL
2009 will mark the Charger football program's 32nd season, and will be the first time since the conclusion of the 2003 campaign that UNH has fielded a team. The return of the football is of great interest and excitement to University of New Haven students, alumni, fans and friends of athletics. Charger Football has a storied tradition of gridiron success, including four NCAA Division II playoff qualifications in the 1990's. The program posts an all-time record of 172-135-5 in 31 seasons, including a 142-87-1 (.620) mark after moving to the Division II level in 1982.
When the Charger Football team advanced to the NCAA Championship game in 1997, with Rossomando serving as defensive line coach, UNH was at that time the smallest school in NCAA history to play for a national title. UNH also advanced to the NCAA semifinals in 1992 and the quarterfinals in 1993 and 1995.
In addition to team success, many individuals in UNH Football history have earned national and regional accolades. UNH had 126 All-New England award winners in 19 seasons between 1983 and 2001, and 63 All-ECAC picks during the same time period. Perhaps the program's most famous alum is running back Roger Graham, who won Division II's most prestigious award - the Harlon Hill Trophy - after leading the NCAA in scoring and ranking second in rushing in 1993. UNH has had a player finish in the top four in the Harlon Hill voting on five occasions.
UNH has a proud tradition of coaches that have gone on to find great success in the professional and college ranks as well. Tony Sparano, who led UNH to the 1997 national championship game and is second all-time in victories at UNH, is currently the Associate Head Coach for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. Chris Palmer (coach, 1986-87) has been an NFL head coach and is currently quarterbacks coach for the New York Giants. The program’s all-time wins leader, Mark Whipple (coach, 1988-93), piloted UMass to a Division I-AA national championship in 1998 and won a Super Bowl as quarterbacks coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Darren Rizzi (coach, 1999-2001) currently serves as associate head coach at Rutgers University.
ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN
A leader in experiential education, the University of New Haven provides its students with a unique combination of solid liberal arts and real-world, hands-on professional training. A private University founded in 1920, UNH has a full-time undergraduate enrollment of more than 2,400 students—with 70 percent residing on its 80-acre main campus—and a graduate school enrollment that exceeds 1,700. The University offers more than 80 undergraduate degrees and more than 25 graduate degrees through its four colleges, in fields such as sports management, nutrition, forensic science, music and sound recording, engineering, computer science and criminal justice. University of New Haven students study abroad through a variety of distinctive programs.
Peter Rossomando
Age: 35 (Born April 7, 1972)
Hometown: Staten Island, N.Y.
Alma Mater: Boston University, 1994
Family: Wife Jessica and three children, Reese, Gianna and Nicholas
Coaching Resume:
