Spisto

[alum73]

SUNY Delhi named fourth-year men’s basketball coach Spisto its athletic director Wednesday as the former Broncos guard will replace Gary Cole this summer.

"This is a job I’d love to have for the rest of my career," said Spisto, who beat out three other finalists for the position. "Being an alum, I’m a product of the college. I’m excited and proud — it’s a dream come true."

Staten Island native Spisto, 31, will succeed Cole, his former SUNY Delhi men’s basketball coach who will retire at the end of this academic year.

Spisto will take over an athletics department with 19 programs, including 17 that compete at the NJCAA Division III level. The other two teams — men’s and women’s golf — compete in the NAIA.

"Spisto, who said he plans to continue coaching men’s basketball, was a standout guard at SUNY Delhi and Oneonta State in the 1990s. A two-time All-Region III guard at Delhi, Spisto also helped O-State win the Eastern College Athletic Conference championship at the end of the 1996-97 season.

Spisto returned to the Broncos as coach in the 1999-2000 season. Delhi won the NJCAA Region III title the following season, en route to a program-best 32-2 record and a fourth-place finish at the NJCAA Division III Tournament.

Spisto then assisted Rider University, an NCAA Division I program, during the 2001-02 season and followed as an assistant for two seasons at D-I SUNY Albany.

Spisto again returned to Delhi for the 2004-05 season, when the Broncos went 20-10. Delhi spent six weeks as the No. 1 NJCAA D-III team in the country this past winter and finished 26-3 as Spisto’s overall record at the school improved to 86-31.

Spisto, who also has served as an enrollment services counselor at Delhi, holds a master’s degree in sports management from United States Sports Academy in Daphne, Ala.; a bachelor’s degree in history from O-State; and an associate’s degree in parks and recreation management from Delhi

[alumni '92']

nice to hear ... congratulations to Mike ... class act