In 1993, Joseph Cuozzo ’59, the winningest lacrosse coach in the United States, became the first Cortland alumnus inducted in the Lacrosse Foundation Hall of Fame.
The department chair for health and physical education at Ward Melville High School in Setauket, N.Y., Cuozzo has amassed a lacrosse coaching record of 469-45. He was the first member of the United States Lacrosse Coaches Association “400 Win Club” in the United States.
Since becoming varsity lacrosse coach in 1969, Cuozzo coached his Ward Melville teams to four state championships, nine Long Island championships, 16 Suffolk County titles and 23 league championships. On 10 occasions, Cuozzo has been elected Suffolk County “Coach of the Year.”
In 1984, he received the New York State Coaches Association Honor Award and in 1987 was inducted into the Long Island Lacrosse Hall of Fame. In 1991, Cuozzo was named the “Man of the Year” by the National Interscholastic Lacrosse Association.
“The educational and athletic experiences I received at Cortland have had a major impact on my teaching and coaching career,” said Cuozzo. “The attitudes and knowledge I acquired while there have shaped my educational philosophy.”
As a Cortland undergraduate, Cuozzo lettered as a back in football, a lacrosse midfielder and track sprinter and long jumper. The Yonkers, N.Y., native was an ECAC Scholar-Athlete in football, a Whitney T. Corey Scholarship recipient, and the Winter Carnival King. He also served as a Delta Kappa Beta fraternity officer and was active in student government.
Cuozzo earned a B.S. in Physical Education in 1959. He received a master’s degree from Hofstra University in 1962. He taught elementary physical education and junior high science in Bay Shore, N.Y., before becoming, in 1967, a physical education instructor and lacrosse coach at Ward Melville High.
Active in conducting Midget League lacrosse clinics in the Three Village area, Joe and his wife, Karen Keena Cuozzo ’59, have two children: Kimberly, a 1985 Cortland graduate, and Kristopher.
UPDATE- March, 2015: Cuozzo retired in 2005 and was inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame in the same year. In 2011, he was inducted into the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame. He volunteers his time as a high school lacrosse coach in Jenson Beach, Florida. Cuozzo shares his coaching experience by volunteering as a speaker at professional clinics and workshops.
