SUNY Cortland Athletics

Presently the Syracuse University football secondary coach, John Anselmo ’71 set the highest standard of excellence at Nassau Community College where his football teams won a staggering 80 percent of their games during his 18 seasons as head coach.

From 1987-94 and 1999-2008, Anselmo guided Nassau to an impressive 152-37 record and 12 Junior College Bowl games. His squads finished undefeated in 1989, 1991 and 1993, capturing the national title in the latter year. Between 1989-94, Nassau won 55 of 58 contests. His teams finished ranked in the nation’s top three on five occasions and the top 20 in 15 different seasons.

A five-time Coastal Conference Coach of the Year, Anselmo mentored more than 150 student-athletes who went on to Division I schools and more than 600 student-athletes who advanced to compete at four-year colleges. Of those, more than 300 received scholarships to compete and earn educations at NCAA Div I or Div I-AA institutions. More than 50 of his charges played in the NFL. Overall, 85 percent of all his Nassau football players advanced to four-year institutions.

Anselmo took over as the Georgia Tech secondary coach for Coach George O’Leary between 1995-98, when his players included future NFL competitors Ryan Stewart, Travares Tillman and Jason Bostic. Georgia Tech competed in the 1997 Carquest Bowl.

A Freeport (N.Y.) High graduate, Anselmo excelled in athletics at Cortland. He won the Red Letter and captained the football team as a record-setting and All-ECAC quarterback. He lost just once in two years as a wrestler before an injury sidelined his career in that sport. He became only the second Red Dragon to bat over .300 for three consecutive years. He was an All-State University of New York Athletic Conference outfielder and the league’s leading hitter. He was the baseball Red Letter Award winner and team captain as a senior.

Anselmo, a member of Beta Phi Epsilon fraternity, served as vice president of the Interfraternity Council on campus. Active with the Men’s Athletic Association, he was listed in the 1971 edition of Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Cortland in 1971, a master’s degree from Syracuse University in 1972 and an School District Administrator certificate from C. W. Post in 1981. He began his professional career teaching physical education and coaching football, wrestling and baseball at Tappan Zee (N.Y.) High School from 1972-77 and at Freeport High School from 1977-86.

Anselmo was the Nassau football defensive coordinator from 1978-86 for Cortland C-Club Hall of Famer Jim Weinman ’60. He joined the Nassau faculty in 1986 as a professor of physical education and remained in that capacity at the college until he left in 2008. In 1993, he received the Distinguished Adjunct Professor of the Year Award.

Within the community, he was active with the Nassau County Heart Association Fundraiser and was a Nassau County Marathon volunteer. He and his wife, Carol Eichel Anselmo ’71, have three children, Alison, Tracy and Peter.

UPDATES:
* Anselmo was hired as an assistant coach with the NFL's Buffalo Bills in 2013 and coached there for three seasons.
* Anselmo was inducted into the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Hall of Fame in August 2016.