Joe Baldarotta enters his sixth season at the Cortland helm in the 2012-13 season. In his first season at Cortland in 2007-08, he guided the Red Dragons to an 11-12-3 record, including an 8-4-2 mark over their final 14 games, and their first State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) tournament appearance in four years.
Prior to his arrival at Cortland in 2007, Baldarotta served as the head coach for 16 seasons at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. His record of 265-171-38 at the school included 10 consecutive campaigns with a .500 or better record and 14 in total. He led the Pointers to the 1993 NCAA Division III title, earning American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) national Coach of the Year honors.
Baldrarotta became the 12th active coach in NCAA Div. III history to reach 300 career wins when Cortland defeated Morrisville State during the 2011-12 campaign. His overall record entering the 2012-13 season is 303-251-46.
The program also finished as national runner-up in both 1992 and 1998 and captured three Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) regular-season titles and two playoff crowns. A four-time NCHA Coach of the Year, Baldarotta ranks 22nd all-time among Division III coaches with 297 overall wins.
Baldarotta was also an assistant for the Pointers for five seasons, helping the team to three straight Division III national titles. Before Wisconsin-Stevens Point, he served as an assistant coach and head coach at Madison West High School. As the team’s head coach for four seasons, Baldarotta compiled a 62-22-1 record and won the 1983 Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association State Championship, earning Wisconsin State High School Coach of the Year honors.
A highly regarded camp instructor, Baldarotta has been involved in numerous off-season camps and clinics and twice has been a member of the coaching staff for the U.S. Olympic Festival.
A native of Madison, Wis., Baldarotta competed in ice hockey at Wisconsin-Stevens Point and received his bachelor’s degree from the University in 1989. Baldarotta and his wife, Cindy, have a son, Nicolo.
