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Pennsylvania Head Coach Al Bagnoli (Central Connecticut, 1975)
67-31-0 (11th season with the Quakers) |
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Bagnoli continues to build his portfolio as one of the winningest coaches in Ivy League history. In fact, with his 6-1 Ivy mark in 2001, he became comparable to Ivy legends Bob Blackman, Dick Colman and Carm Cozza for the most Ivy victories in their first 10 years.
Colman won 53 times in his first 10 at Princeton from 1957 to 1966. Blackman claimed 52 victories in his first 10 at Dartmouth from 1956 to 1965. Cozza, the winningest coach in Ivy history, had 49 wins in his first 10 seasons at Yale from 1965 to 1974, while Bagnoli tied Cozza's mark as he completed his 10th season with 49.
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Al Bagnoli gives us the inside
scoop on the 2002 Penn season.
Bagnoli On...
...losing several key
players…
"We lost some good players. We
actually graduated 22 seniors, which is far and away the
most we've ever had graduate in a single from a single team.
Two of which statistically shattered every offensive passing
and rushing record that we've had. Obviously, trying to
replace Gavin Hoffman and Kris Ryan (both of them signed NFL
contracts) will be interesting."
Bagnoli On...
...replacing key
players…
"We think we have a very capable
quarterback, a kid named Mike Mitchell, who's had some snaps
under his belt, so we feel he has the potential to be a
very, very good player within this league. I think the
running back situation will be a little harder for us to
define. I have a feeling we're going to be a lot like
Columbia; we're going to have to put two and three guys out
there to try to make up for a singular person [Kris
Ryan]."
Bagnoli On...
... Stephen Faulk
"Stephen [Faulk] is very
talented. He's a very, very talented offensive player. When
he came to Penn, we had Jim Finn who is now with the Colts,
then, we had Kris Ryan after Jim Finn. So, we really didn't
want to use two athletes in that position. We moved him to
defense. He's been a three-year starter and is probably the
fastest kid in the Ivy League. So we're going to give him an
opportunity to be one of those missing pieces and replace
Kris. Hopefully, he'll give us some outside speed presence."
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Although the Quakers fell to undefeated Harvard and were unable to capture the league title, the Red and Blue finished 8-1, their best mark since they finished undefeated under Bagnoli in 1994. They have also posted back-to-back undefeated seasons at home for the first time since the 1993-94 seasons.
In the 2001 season, Penn's offense was spectacular as usual. They averaged over 400 yards of offense per game, while Gavin Hoffman became the first Quaker quarterback to post three consecutive 2,000 yard passing seasons. Hoffman completed his Penn career as the school's all-time leader in total offense, passing yards, completions, touchdowns and passing attempts. The Quakers were able to post nearly 30 points per game, while their strong defense was able to hold opponents under 12.
His championship reign began in 1993. Bagnoli, who led Penn to back-to-back undefeated seasons (1993 and 1994) and two Ivy trophies, was awarded the Scotty Whitelaw Award as the Division I-AA Coach of the Year in 1993 and 1994.
With the transition he had made in his first season, the success that has happened since can’t be a surprise. That initial campaign in 1992 marked the second-best turnaround in Penn’s history when he took over a squad which completed a 2-8 year and guided it to a 7-3 record.
Before taking over at Pennsylvania, Bagnoli had guided Union College to the NCAA playoffs six times in 10 years as head coach and never had a losing season. His 1989 squad won the Lambert Meadowlands Cup and ECAC Team of the Year honors, advancing to the national championship game.
In the early 1970s, Bagnoli played three years of varsity football for Central Connecticut State University, during which the team posted a 23-5 record. Bagnoli resides in Mt. Laurel, N.J., with his wife, Maryellen, and their three children — Jeffrey, Gregory and Amanda.
Assisting Coach Bagnoli...
Trey Brown (Colorado '93) -- Wide Recievers
Drew Christ (Chicago '98) -- Defensive Assistant
Andy Coen (Gettysburg ‘86) -- Offensive Coordinator
Steven Downs (Central State '95) -- Running Backs
Jim O'Neil (Towson '00) -- Offensive Assistant
Ray Priore (Albany ‘85) -- Defensive Coordinator
Jim Schaefer (St. Lawrence ‘80) -- Defensive Line
Cliff Schwenke (Bridgeport '73) -- Linebackers
Tony Thompson (Stony Brook ‘98) -- Defensive Ends
Larry Woods (St. John’s ‘82) -- Quarterbacks
Damian Wroblewski (Lafayette '99) -- Tight Ends
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