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CCSU's Tom Masella

New Britain, CT -- Central Connecticut State University President Richard L. Judd and Director of Athletics Charles Jones announced on Wednesday morning that Tom Masella has been named the University’s new head football coach. Masella joins the Blue Devils after spending the last two seasons as the defensive coordinator at the University of Massachusetts.

"We are pleased to welcome Tom to the Central Connecticut State University family and are excited to bring his experience and winning attitude to our football program," Judd said on Wednesday. "He has a proven record as a successful coach, and he exemplifies the winning spirit that will reinvigorate Blue Devil football."

Masella becomes the 11th head coach in the 65 years of Central Connecticut football. The program holds an all-time record of 241-297-22 (.450).

"Tom has a tremendously successful coaching background and has been involved with many successful college football programs," Jones said. "We are excited to bring in a coach with his proven credentials to lead our football program. We look forward to great things during the Tom Masella era at Central Connecticut and are proud to welcome Tom, his wife, Leslie-Anne, and his two boys, T.J. and Jack, into the Blue Devil family."

Masella spent the last two seasons at UMass and helped lead the Minutemen to the 2003 Atlantic-10 championship and a berth in the Division I-AA playoffs. The team finished 11th in the final Sports Network I-AA poll with a 10-3 overall record.

"My family and I are extremely excited about the opportunity ahead of us at Central Connecticut," Masella said on Wednesday. "I am familiar with the football program having faced Central Connecticut in each of the last two seasons, and I know there is a solid foundation of players within the program. I know we can win here, and my staff and I will work as hard as we can to put a winning football team on the field every Saturday."

In his two seasons at Massachusetts, the Minutemen were 18-7. The three losses in 2003 came at the hands of Kansas State, national champion Delaware, and national runner-up Colgate in the first round of the NCAA Playoffs. This past season the Minutemen ranked 30th in the nation in rushing defense (125 yards per game), 45th in scoring defense (22.7 points per game) and 55th in total defense (351 yards per game). Three of Masella’s defensive players were named to the All-Conference First-Team and four more players were named to the Second and Third-Team All-Conference squads.

Masella’s teams have won two conference championships in the last three seasons (Massachusetts in 2003 and Louisiana Tech in 2001). Prior to his time at Massachusetts, Masella spent three seasons as the defensive coordinator at Louisiana Tech. He led the Tech defense to one of the biggest turnarounds in Division I-A during his tenure. In 2001, his Bulldog defense ranked 13th nationally in Division I-A in turnovers forced and 11th in interceptions. That team won the Western Athletic Conference Championship in its first season in the WAC.

Prior to Louisiana Tech, Masella was the assistant head coach and secondary coach at the University of Connecticut in 1998. The Huskies finished the season ranked eighth in I-AA with a 10-3 record and posted the Huskies only Division I-AA playoff appearance. Masella spent the 1996 and 1997 seasons as the head coach at Boston University where he had been an assistant from 1990-94. He left the Terriers when the University disbanded its football program. Prior to being the head coach at Boston University, he was the first head coach at Fairfield University when it began its football program in 1995.

Masella is a 1981 graduate of Wagner College and began his coaching career with the Seahawks from 1982-84. His first coordinator position came at the United States Merchant Marine Academy from 1985-89 where he was an assistant athletics director and defensive coordinator.

A native of Staten Island, NY, Masella began his playing career at Tottenville High School and then started and played in all 43 games of his career at Wagner College. The Seahawks posted a 17-3 mark in his final two seasons and won the NCAA Division III Championship in 1980.

Masella and his wife, Leslie-Anne, have two sons, T.J. (seven) and Jack (five).