Tom Masella SI Advance Feature
Wagner College announced the hiring of Tom Masella as Wagner's 12th head football coach in 2019.
"It's wonderful to welcome Tom Masella back to the Wagner family and home to Staten Island, where his career as a leader in football began decades ago," said President Martin. "Building on the good work of his predecessors and tapping his extraordinary experience as a coach and mentor to young people, he will strengthen the proud tradition that is Seahawk football at Wagner College."
A member of the Wagner Athletics Hall of Fame and Staten Island native, Masella returns to Grymes Hill after most recently serving as the defensive coordinator at Northeast Conference (NEC) rival Bryant.
"We're thrilled to bring Coach Masella back to our football program," Hameline added. "His ties to Staten Island and the Wagner College community along with his proven track record as a coach make him a great fit for our football program. As a former Seahawk student-athlete and assistant coach here he knows what it takes to be successful on Grymes Hill and I'm confident he will help our student-athletes achieve their goals on the field and in the classroom."
Masella's rich coaching background includes a stint as the associate head coach for Wagner during the historic 2012 season, as the Seahawks won their first NEC Football Championship in school history before becoming the first NEC team to post a win in the NCAA FCS Playoffs with a 31-20 victory over Patriot League Champion Colgate.
"It's great to be home and back at my alma mater. I'd like to thank Dr. Martin and Coach Hameline for placing the trust in me as we look forward to re-building a championship program here at Wagner," Masella commented. "I'm excited to meet our current players and coaches and hit the recruiting trails as soon as possible. Wagner is known for having great players from the Metropolitan area and I look forward to re-connecting with those high school coaches. We have a great tradition here on Staten Island and hopefully we can make the community proud of our football program again."
A proven winner at the highest level, Masella brings over 30 years of collegiate coaching experience back to Wagner, including six seasons at the FBS level, 10 as a head coach, and 15 years as a defensive coordinator at the FBS and FCS level.
Apart from helping the Seahawks to a league title in 2012, Masella was a part of conference championship teams at Boston University (1993), Louisiana Tech (2001), UMass (2003), Central Connecticut (2004, 2005), and Fordham (2007).
Masella's head coaching experience includes two years at Boston University (1996 - 1997), two seasons at the helm at CCSU (2004 - 2005) and six at Fordham (2006 - 2011).
At Fordham, Masella's Rams won the 2007 Patriot League title after an 8-4 season, earning him Patriot League Coach of the Year honors. Masella was also a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, which is given to the top FCS coach in the country. The Rams featured 12 all-league players that season.
In his only two years as the head coach at Central Connecticut, Masella won the conference title in both seasons, the first-ever football championships at the school, compiling 15 wins and coaching 11 All-NEC selections. Masella spent the 2002 and 2003 seasons as the defensive coordinator at UMass, helping the Minutemen win the 2003 Atlantic-10 title.
A graduate of Tottenville High School on Staten Island, Masella was a standout defensive back throughout his four-year Seahawk career, highlighted by leading Wagner to a combined 17-3 record over his final two seasons on Grymes Hill.
In Masella's junior season of 1980, Wagner compiled an 8-2 record, capped by the program's first-ever postseason appearance, as the Seahawks earned a spot in the NCAA Division III Playoffs. The following season, in 1981, with Masella serving as one of the Seahawks' team captains, the Green & White went 9-1, as Wagner rebounded from an opening-day loss to Montclair St. by winning nine straight. He was inducted into the Wagner Hall of Fame in 2018.
Most recently, Masella served as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at fellow NEC program Bryant. Two Bulldogs picked up All-NEC honors, with Tomas Wright earning a spot on the First Team and Jesse Nemerowicz garnering Second Team accolades. Wright led the circuit with five forced fumbles and ranked among the top-five in the league with nine sacks while Nemerowicz's 95 tackles this year were fifth-most in the league.
Masella's family includes his wife, Lesli-Ann, as well as two sons, T.J., and Jack.
