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3/24/2005
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| Scott Pioli | |
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New Britain, CT - Former Central Connecticut football player and current New England Patriots Vice President of Player Personnel Scott Pioli and a pair of Division II All-Americans headline the Central Connecticut State University Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2005. Pioli, one of the architects of the Patriots three Super Bowl wins in the last four years, is joined by former track All-American and current assistant coach Tom Cieslowski and former wrestling All-American and New England Champion Mark Salge in one of the most decorated Hall of Fame Classes the University has even inducted. The three former standouts will be inducted on Friday, May 13, 2005, at the Farmington Club in Farmington, CT. Tickets to the event are $75 and advanced purchase is required. The reception begins at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 7:00 p.m., tickets are available by calling (860) 832-1740.
SCOTT PIOLI - CCSU `88 - HOF Class of `05
Pioli was a starter at defensive tackle for three and a half years for the Blue Devils. The 1988 graduate was a three-time All-New England selection in his career and was the Blue Devils' defensive MVP in 1985. He served as a co-captain during his senior campaign in 1987 and finished his career with 222 tackles and 22 sacks. The Washingtonville, NY native was the first-ever winner of Central's Frank Marietta Award for leadership. He was presented with the honor at the conclusion of his senior season. Also a CCSU Young Alumni Award winner, Pioli has been in football ever since.
After graduating with a degree in communications, he spent two years as a graduate assistant coach at Syracuse University beginning in 1988. He coached the Murray State linemen for two seasons before leaving the sidelines to join the Cleveland Browns personnel department in 1992. He is now the Vice-President of Player Personnel for the New England Patriots. He and Head Coach Bill Belichick needed just two seasons to rebuild the team and to successfully implement their shared football philosophy. By 2001, the Patriots had acquired 21 veteran free agents who helped form the nucleus of the franchise's first Super Bowl Championship team. Just two years later, the Patriots claimed their second Super Bowl title in three seasons, with a franchise-best 14-2 regular season record and the third-best overall mark in NFL history, 17-2. Scott became the youngest person to ever earn The Sporting News NFL Executive of the Year honors when he received the award after the 2003-04 season. That award is voted on by the NFL owners and general managers each season. He was also named the Executive of the Year by Pro Football Weekly and Sports Illustrated. In early February of this year the Pats beat the Philadelphia Eagles to cap another 17-2 season and win their third Super Bowl in four seasons. Following this season, Pioli was again named The Sporting News NFL Executive of the Year as well as earning the JB (James Brown) Award for Executive Leadership by Fox Sports and the NFL Players Association.
"Scott has been second to none in building and managing our personnel department since 2000," New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick said. "Our success is a direct reflection of Scott's performance, which starts with his love for the game and is carried out through his vision and his competitiveness. He is a man of integrity and one of my best friends."
Tom Cieslowski - CCSU `74 - HOF Class of `05
For Tom Cieslowski it's all about "giving something back" to the sport and the place that has meant so much to him. Just completing his 10th season as an assistant coach at Central, Cieslowski came to CCSU in the late 1960s and in effect, never left. Cieslowski, whose primary responsibility is working with both the Blue Devil men's and women's weight throwers, was a local product, having been a standout shot putter and hammer thrower at New Britain High under one of the state's greatest scholastic track coaches, Irving S. Black. "Coach (Ted) Owen gave me an opportunity to come here and mature as an athlete and as person," he said recalling his early days at Central. "I came from a great track program and stepped right into another one here."
He garnered All-America honors in his senior season after finishing second in the hammer throw at the Div.II national championships. He is also the former Blue Devil record holder in the shot put, with a throw of 52' 2.25". The veteran assistant coach came back to his alma mater to work with head coach George Kawecki after serving lengthy stints on the coaching staffs at the former St. Thomas Aquinas High School and at New Britain High School. "I had some wonderful opportunities to compete and learn handed to me here at Central," he said, adding, "I'm thrilled to be able to give something back to the university and to the current generation of Blue Devils.
MARK SALGE - CCSU `80 - HOF Class of `05
Poised to make the 1980 US team while an undergraduate wrestler here at Central, Salge was one of the thousands of disappointed American athletes who fell victim to the American boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games. That move deprived athletes like Salge in the US and countless others in the several western nations which joined the boycott of the opportunity compete on the world stage. But his accomplishments are the stuff of which legends are made anyway. His Central career produced more than 100 wins and earned him and the CCSU wrestling program regional and even national accolades. The Union, NJ native won the coveted Outstanding Performer Award at the prestigious Coast Guard Invitation, then one of the top small college tournaments in the nation. He went on two win both New England and Eastern Regional championships and twice earned All-America honors, once finishing as high as third in the NCAA post-season competition.
"Mark was quite simply the best wrestler I ever coached here at Central," says George Redman who led the program to prominence during its formative years. "He had that rare combination of strength, agility, competitiveness and dedication that separates the truly exceptional athletes from everybody else." Redman adds, "Those guys don't come along every day. He had great skills to begin with and yet he worked as hard as anybody we ever had in the program at making himself even better. Mark had a terrific career that saw him earn All-America recognition not just once, but twice. That pretty much says it all." The 142-pounder competed in five in-season tournaments during his senior campaign at Central and was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler in each and every one of them. His final CCSU record was 126-26-2.
