Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

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Ron Pietro
Marist College
Poughkeepsie, New York
Transcribed by
For the Marist College Archives and Special Collections




Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

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Transcript
– Ron Pietro
Interviewee
: Ron Pietro
Interviewer:
Gus Nolan
Interview

Date
: 07 October 2011
Location
: Marist College Archives and Special Collections
Topic:
Marist College History
Subject

Headings
:
Pietro, Ron



Marist College Staff



Marist College (Poughkeepsie, New York)



Marist College – Social Aspects
Summary:
Ron Pietro discusses his early years before arriving at Marist College as a coach. He
talks about memorable events he had while coaching at Marist College with the help from his
wife, Sally Pietro. He discusses his career after Marist in different states, such as Alaska and
Rhode Island. He reflects on the college’s ethos and suggestions for the Board of Trustees.






Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

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00:03
Gus Nolan:
Today is Friday October 7
th
. We have an opportunity to interview one of the
outstanding coaches in basketball here at Marist in the past, Ron Pietro. Good morning, Ron.
00:14
Ron Pietro:
Good Morning, Gus. Happy to be here.
00:16
GN:
And along with Ron is Sally, his wife and the first assistant in the basketball training
of our guys and feeding them for a number of year.
00:25
RP:
And a graduate of Marist.
00:26
GN:
And a graduate of Marist. Ron, I’d like to take a few minutes to just kind of quickly
go over some of the events I might say before coming to Marist. Before Marist, your early years
where were you born, brought up, high school and so on?
00:43
RP:
Sure. I was born in Yonkers, New York in 1941. Went through the Yonkers Public
School System. Went to Gorton high school playing basketball and baseball then went to
Manhattan College on a full athletic scholarship. Played in physical education. Got my bachelor's
degree from Manhattan. Went to Penn State and got my Master's Degree from Penn State the
following year started teaching at Urban…
01:09
GN:
Penn State was for the Physical Education?
01:11
RP:
Physical Education and Recreation, yes.
01:13
GN:
Back up a little bit to grammar school. In grammar school years, were you involved
in activities? Were you in sport pretty much, work, any activities?
01:25
RP:
Pretty much sports down to the park which in those days. We would all go to the park
and compete in a variety of different sports from whatever was appropriate at the time. And the
park was right near my school. So I went six years elementary, two years seventh and eighth, one
year junior high but had been involved in Little League Baseball and playing in CYO basketball
in seventh and eighth grade, ninth grade. So sports was a very big part of my life growing up.
01:54
GN:
Through high school was baseball as important as basketball?


Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

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01:57
RP:
Yes. Yeah, I played baseball in the summer time for the Yonkers Chippewas, Yonkers
Fords and was pretty successful at that as a pitcher.
02:07
GN:
Did you have an opportunity or did you need to work at any time during this early
years in the summers or during high school?
02:15
RP:
Not so much in high school I don't think. When I got to Manhattan then we would
always have a summer job but the summer job was down at that park. I was the recreation
director and then through Manhattan, we went to a various boys’ camps. Moosilauke was up in
New Hampshire and we went there for… I went there for three years. Freshman, sophomore and
then senior year and then worked at the parks, the other three years. So it always had to do with
what kind of the sports activities which enabled me to continue in the Phys-Ed world.
02:50
GN:
OK you finished Manhattan and you went to graduate school. What's the next step?
Did you work during that time too? Did you have a coaching job? Were you doing anything?
02:59
RP:
No I actually played basketball. It was way back we call it the CBA. Williams board a
little bit. But I had the internship so I was dealing with intramurals doing thirty credits within a
year in the summer to get that master degrees in science. I wrote a thesis which was pretty
interesting at that time, never having that experience before so it was very good. And going from
a small Catholic school in Manhattan to a big state university, Penn State was very good for me
you know. It changed my whole outlook on things and was good. But it all had to do with
staying within a physical education/recreation world.
03:38
GN:
OK and what's the genesis of you coming to Marist? How did that develop?
03:43
RP:
I was that Irvington high school for two years coaching basketball and baseball and
teachings.
03:49
GN:
That’s …
03:49
RP:
Irvington, New York for two years and then Howard Goldman… a job opened up and


Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

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he actually came down. We discussed it for the first time to come to Marist and he was looking
for an unusual match between a crew coach and basketball coach. So… crew was not my horizon
and so he hired Paul Errol at the time. And so then two years later, as I think Howard had more
money to deal with and everything started to expand. We got together again and so after two
years at Irvington high school, So I came to Marist. That was in 1966, I think.
04:35
GN:
What were you expected to do it at Marist?
04:38
RP:
In the beginning, the instructor of physical education was the title and coach.
04:44
GN:
So you had a class. You had some students.
04:45
RP:
Well we had all the physical education classes. That’s where we got involved in
teaching, wrestling, fencing and golf and anything else. All the sports that we could put in that
little small gymnasium you know with thirty or forty boys, men … taking. I still have good
recollections. I'll see some guys that remember that more than coaching and the athletic director
should. You taught me wrestling. You didn’t know what you're doing. (laughter)
05:20
GN:
The people you are talking about just now, Howard Goldman, of course stands out as
one of the principles and who else would be involved in those early years?
05:28
RP:
Sure. Well Linus Foy obviously, when he was there and then there was the vice
president, Brother John O'Shea and then a group of young people that also started together would
be Tony Campilli, Frank LaRose was in that group. Dave Flynn Tom Wade and then the teachers
Jack Kelly, Tom Casey, Louis Zuccarello, Vinny Toscano all started around that time as young
educators.
05:59
GN:
Zuccarello, here yet?
06:01
RP:
I think so. You know, within that first two or three years anyway so there was a great
group of young people that were. I'm not sure they're all starting out but pretty much so.
06:12
GN:
Everyone

you named there seemed to me that this is one of their first big jobs.


Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

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06:16
RP:
I think so too. Even George Hooper I can remember.
06:20
GN:
Don’t mention George Sommer

because he would not want to be classified in this
category. We have some principles here, you see.
06:30
RP: W
ell anyway that was the group that. Oh Bob Norman was a key too.
06:38
GN:
Let’s talk about the organization of the basketball team. You must have had some
heck of a job. First of all, getting their recruits to come to play for you and you were offering
them very little except sweat and hard tears.
06:55
RP:
That's a good point. Yes but you know as enthusiastic I'd played basketball in college
and coached for two years. So the program was what was known as and still is N.A.I.A. So really
had no good affiliation with any conference but we started out with the help of the admissions
office. They packaged some people meaning they gave a little bit of scholarship and some loans.
So we got some people and went out recruiting. You know actually went out and I think the first
recruiting class probably was Bill Spenla and Joe Scott and Ray Manning in the early days but
taking the players that were here for one or two years and then recruiting. Back then if you recall
as a freshman, you were not able to play on the varsity. So that first year they would have to
home-play freshmen and then we extended. So as we develop those players, we got better and
better and you know and start to win some games.
07:59
GN:
Dave Flynn was the recruiting guy?
08:01
RP:
He was the admissions officers and so funny story with me, as we got to know Dave
and his wife. He was from Beacon and I worked summer jobs down because his dad was a
Commissioner of Parks so I had the summer down there for two years so we got to be good
friends but he was very helpful and understanding what was needed academics, athletics, and
trying to bundle the financial aid.
08:29
GN:
Yeah I had a student. He’s not a student. He’s Terry Moore…was one of those, one


Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

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of the students who went out recruiting. He organized that that group that went and visited
school and said we’re students from this school. That was a kind of a novel idea. He happened to
here last week and we're talking about this thing. Another piece of this, you’re organizing this…
How about the scheduling? Is it… did you have to do this? Who put the thing together?
09:00
RP:
Howard, the athletic director would be in charge of it but as I took over we started to
branch out and trying to move forward from this NAIA to a Division three status of the N.C.A.A
So in the beginning we were playing Bloomfield and King's College and probably right where it
belonged. But as we got better I didn't see any future in that because it was playing against
schools that were in a sense are unknown to me from in my background and in order to make the
institution better and more prestigious and more noticeable, we started to move into playing
other schools then that were more comparable.
09:37
GN:
Okay at what point, do we talk about entrance into the N.C.A.A? You know Category
three as…?
09:49
RP:
We would be division three which would be no scholarships still. Still based on
financial aid and need. One of the great difficulties was having no facility.
10:00

GN:
We didn’t have a gym in those days?
10:02

RP:
No, we had a practicing facility about as big as this room. So that was always a
challenge so playing at Lourdes High School, picking up everything going over there and then
playing at Dutchess Community College as a home court. So no matter what league you played
in, it was difficult to get opponents to come because you weren’t on campus. So I would say you
have to go back in history. But probably four or five years, we started to make the move into
NCAA Division 3.
10:34
GN:
This is early seventies then?
10:35
RP:
Yeah early seventies. I have to look that up Gus but I'm not sure about that. I think


Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

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we're right on the brink there for a while saying what because Howard Goldman would always
promise the new facility in his office. He would have that new building there and every year he
would change the finalization date because it didn't happen. And that was always his goal and it
was his dream put up something like the McCann Center. So as we muddled along there and then
I would start probably taking on more responsibility. We had football in and so I became like the
assistant athletic director and I started a tennis program from men and then a tennis program for
women, coaching basketball. Teaching still teaching in physical education. Going to school. Bill
Austin and I have some great stories for I think there was a brother John O'Shea said well if
you’re going to stay here you have another degree. So he went to Southern Connecticut State for
a degree in educational administration. Then we were talking about whether you get your
doctorate or not then it became evident that teaching coaching administration, you probably
didn't need your doctorate.
11:46
GN:
Did Howie have the doctorate at the time?
11:47
RP:
He had his doctorate when he came Yes and but I think as athletics changed the
environment changed and there was less and less emphasis, probably on the physical education
and then I think we start to go co-ed remember at that time too. So just teaching boy’s, men’s
physical education was not as important as when we first came so kind of transitioned more in to
athletics. So we did make assistant professors after getting another degree. So we have the
Bachelor’s and Masters’, both Bill Austin and myself from Southern Connecticut.
12:23
GN:
So you were officially faculty then?
12:24
RP:
We were faculty.
12:26
GN:
That’s a good point.
RP: We were instructor, faculty and getting an extra two thousand dollars to coach basketball.
GN: You were well-paid for that. You were working on a rather limited budget so far as travel


Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

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was concerned in those days. I have heard stories shared from other guys who’ve come by
talking about the…wonderful transportation provided for them. Not only that but at least they
were fed through the courtesy of your wife who made the sandwiches for the run.
RP: Not very much. It’s kind of a unique situation. You know, when we’re going down South,
playing in the city… that time we’re driving in vans as well. Sometimes we take a bus.
GN: Are you talking about New York City or Fort Washington?
RP: No, New York City. We played a lot of schools in New York. So it was always difficult
coming back to games at seven-thirty, say and then finish nine-thirty, ten o’clock. You’re
coming back up trying to get home by twelve because of the school, the next day. You go to a
diner or someplace, and now you have twenty people with you. Now it’s another hour and half.
Sally, my wife, said “Maybe we can help fix this.” Because we used to live in south of here,
Wappinger’s Falls. We would have $100 for meals. $5 for twenty people. Sally would go and get
rolls and take the orders. She could probably speak better to some of the orders. ‘ham and
cheese.’ ‘I don’t want mustard’ ‘mayonnaise’ this that. We used to pack them into a big bag. Get
some sodas. Put them under a bunch and as soon as the game was over, you know, we get into a
bus or a van and give it back and the guys be back in the normal time at midnight instead of two
in the morning.
14:10
GN:
Yeah, those meals must have been… I mean the food was good. It’s the
accommodation which they were served. Smelly guys and all of this.
14:18
RP:
That right, right on the bus or in the van.
14:22
Sally Pietro:
Mostly buses.
14:23
RP:
By the time, I think we're probably in the mid-70s then with buses going down so we
did that for a few years and it was a big boom for Sally because she probably made thirty dollars.
14:34
GN:
That was added to the income of the family.


Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

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14:38
RP:
Yeah right so it was good all around. And you're right many people remember that the
sandwiches because they had some unusual requests.
14:48
GN:
Moving on, how about the building of McCann? Did you play a part in talking to
with Howie or Linus about?
14:57
RP:
A bit. Somewhat because of my experience but it was really Howard Goldman's goal
and idea and as he advance into that he gave me more responsibility as the assistant athletic
director and run a whole program basically. Because he spent so much time and effort plus he
was still always coaching too and he was teaching. He moved the academic side more into just
physical education, wrestling you know teaching skills into what I think he developed here as far
as certification for coaches, the history of physical education, history of athletics, the first aid and
safety. And as the program evolved, Howard was very important in building that whole structure
so as he spent his time in the classroom more so and as far as the McCann Center as it's named I
took over more responsibility in the administration of the athletics program.
15:56
GN:
How about the swimming pool? Was Larry VanWagner on site yet or?
15:59
RP:
Yes. He was the first hire beside the two between that we had. He was really the first
hire with the McCann center to come in as the running the pool.
16:11
GN:
Yeah. Okay. let's go back to the NCAA Discussion. Was there... you didn't have
alumni behind you pushing you to say yeah lets go big, you know? Was there much of a…?
16:24
RP:
So I guess it was always my goal. I mean was my goal to go from the NCAA Division
Three but without a building, facility to play in. It was Southampton we played against but other
comparable smaller private schools, there was Dowling, Southampton. We developed that we
call the Big Apple Conference. It always gave us an opportunity with the NAIA. It actually went
to the national championship of the NAIA beat Dowling down there but the exposure was so
small that I thought that we should develop into the NCAA That was going. So we went to


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Division three and then with the building I had visions of going Division one and getting into a
grouping with Fairfield, Manhattan, Niagara, Canisius,

Siena. We always played Siena but
comparable institutions private institutions, mostly Catholic institutions and kind of that was
always my goal to get through that so when the building started go up in order to get to Division
One, at that time, you had to go to Division Two for three years so Division Two provided
NCAA allowed you to have scholarships now so the decision was made by the institution to start
with scholarships at that time probably within the late 70s.
17:49
GN:
How many were you given, three?
17:51
RP:
Probably five or six back then you could package them too as well?
17:56
GN:
Half and half?
17:57
RP:
right and so we played in the Division 2 in a separate conference. All the other
schools that we're talking about also joined in, Southampton. But the goal was still to my mind
must elevate the programs and maybe because I went to Manhattan but that a catholic league that
was around here seem to me to be the right place.
18:16
GN:
Yeah, you’d be away far off from St John's though? But you played them?
18:21
RP:
Manhattan played St John’s. So yeah no … They were at the top of heap then but that
was really the goal and as the NCAA was evolving into different conferences in order to get into
the tournament. Eventually what we joined we couldn't get into the Catholic league. We tried
what we called ECAC North but it was a number of schools, Wagner, Fairleigh Dickinson
schools like that enabled you if you were good enough to win that league you would get to the
NCAA tournament which was so different back then so that all evolved in the late 70s and the
early 80s. And the building was a part of that.
19:01
GN:
Because we had a building, they can come now.
19:03
RP:
Right and then I think after I left and Dennis Murray came on and then that move was


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a few years later to get involved with the league that he is in now which to me always and I
thought that was the way to go right from beginning. I think as he sets the situation that wasn't
ready for a few years.
19:27
GN:
Tell me a little bit about your philosophy of coaching I have heard it said and I think
I've seen it… winning is important but it's not the most important thing.
19:38
RP:
Without a question. I guess you’d always want but I guess one of the greatest
challenges that I remember in trying to accommodate for players first but I had a manager by the
name of Kenny what was Kenny’s we’ll think of his last name but he was a really great kids
managers to me were just as important because they did all the junk work but kept us going and
you know he worked and I played him in a game. So that gives you a bit of an idea of how I felt
toward all the people that played for me and the other thing was getting the degree that was
always important for my parents right from the beginning of trying to get a college degree and I
think for the most part if you go back in time our graduation rates were really good so treating
the whole person, pushing on the academic side because they all thought they were great players
you know integrating that as far as a basketball player and I guess the greatest feeling that you
would have as a coach is seeing the young man grow between a Freshman year and senior year
and leadership abilities that occurred during that time and still maintaining their closeness with
them.
20:54
GN:
But it seems to me. You have a concern for a kid who comes all the practices and he's
like tenth on the bench you know he has to have his chance in the sun.
20:02
RP:
Well, we tried to do that too. As you move to division one winning becomes
significantly more important.
21:11
GN:
Tell me about two or three memorable basketball games, surely there were some
that…


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21:18
RP:
Well the Siena game was always very important. We used to be able to play them
home and away and so those games were rough and tough. And I'm not sure these are good
memories but two memories up at Sienna was when Jimmy Norman was the Red Fox and he had
them as the Indians. They double teamed him, flipped him over on his back, his hat came off and
it was a big mess up there and then the next time we went up there the fans behind the bench
were very rude and on the players. I mean it was a fight you know our players went back out
after them so I'm not sure that was a great memory. But that’s something I kind of do remember.
I do remember beating Dowling in the third time way back in the NAIA to get to the NAIA
tournament so we took the whole group to Kansas City and played in a big memorial arena with
thirty-two teams and that was a significant factor that was important. I guess the other time we
finally got Manhattan come up and play us when the McCann center before I left. To me that
was a big game as well. But you’re right because the wins and losses weren’t the most important
thing. It was kind of the preparation, the playing and relationship with the players.
22:29
RP:
OK
22:31
SP: A
nd I think just to interject I think it … You were always looking for the goal moving
whatever it was division one. And probably why you eventually moved to administration
because that’s where you could do that better than coaching.
22:52
GN:
One of the things you know I came here as a young student in ‘48 and graduated in
’52. I'm as stunned every time I come on this campus now as most who are here from the
beginning when we had a farm pigs and cows and apple orchards and things of that sort but I
think it's a truism to say that one of the reasons that this has developed has to do with you know
the sports programs that were operating here that sports does bring students an interest you know
if you didn't have sports, you wouldn’t have Marist.
23:35
RP:
I think that's a very true statement because we also have some club sports like club


Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

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football which generate a thirty or forty or fifty young men.
23:42
GN:
You should

hear from those guys, Coach Levine.
23:46
RP:
Coach Levine was here you know yelling screaming moving you know creating that
atmosphere of coordination and friendship and those guys go back a long time.
23:57
GN:
He was all paid. He was given a thousand dollars every year for ten years
23:59
RP:
He was paid a lot of money. You have to give him a lot of credit. And the crew. The
crew has been very instrumental part of Marist from the beginning because being near the water
and trying to get the shells, the fundraising and have the event here but that brought a lot of
young men. I remember Bill Austin would always say well who are you… When we had tryouts
for basketball, who are you cutting because the best crew athlete would be six foot two or six
foot three, kind of tall and slender … that he could teach how to row because there's not a lot of
teaching involved in before you come to row at Marist so that involved. And so we had a decent
good program in its beginnings in your right and I think Tom Wade was the basketball coach
back there. George Sturgess maybe and I'm not sure that’s his name. I am kind of mixing schools
hear too but you know you always had the basketball which is a key component of most Catholic
schools anyway but the crew is always a big part of it and then when Howard came, he brought
that soccer right along because that was his favorite.
25:08
GN:
And he did well when he had the Brothers here from Spain.

25:11
RP:
That's right.

25:13
GN:
Yeah, he was able to do a few things but it does even to this day like when we had a
survey done as to where we should go a number of things put on them. A new classroom
building. A new science building. A stadium. You know well I thought the stadium would be one
of the last things that we'd ever really want you know. Why do we want a stadium for, you
know? But I tell you it's really been some kind of a piece of development here. I mean when you


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see that kids don't get to Notre Dame I mean there are other places they can go.
25:58
RP:
That's very true. I think as the athletic program developed and John Garland and the
McCann foundation was a significant factor here, you know understanding I believe what you're
trying to say that it would bring some prestige to the institution and as we started also remember
you have females coming in at the same during that time period too so. Emerging into institution
that athletics, both men and women, was important you know we kind of started all that and in
the late 70s, early 80s, yeah, but now when you look at the facilities at Marist I mean that
baseball field is as good as it can get you know with the football now I think of the expansion.
But the fields up on this side, we never dreamed of that. We didn’t even know that Marist owned
the land out there.
26:47
GN:
We might not have.
26:51
RP:
But the components of the program always were basically the crew and basketball
and soccer you know and football now is resurrected itself a little bit but you have to give credit
to Ron Levine because he was instrumental in making it happen back then which was good for
the institution because it brought thirty to forty kids that thought that they could play.
27:12
GN:
Right and they have friends and.
27:15
RP:
Absolutely and probably some of your best donors from that group at this point.
27:19
GN:
Today. Absolutely yeah I wouldn't hesitate to say that at all. I’ll come back to this
again. Let's leave Marist. A little bit, what happened after Marist? You went to Alaska?
27:32
RP:
Right in 1984 there was a lot of transition going on. Personally for me you have to
remember that ’82, ’83, ’85, I was the basketball coach, the tennis coach, the director of athletics
and the building manager. So I had a big load and doing a lot of stuff in the summer time which
I'll get so later on so. A decision was made to do one or the other you know whether it was
athletic director or basketball coach and so at that time, we had been here for eighteen years and


Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

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had a good friend in Alaska who played for me and said that this job is open we went out there
and at the time you’re going to Alaska you know it's big change. But it was probably one of the
best moves we made because it enabled us to make more money to get involved in strictly an
athletic administration instead of just you know all this piled together so when they offered the
job, thank god for my wife and you know we had four children at the time and we moved Alaska
and in retrospect, it was a great move for us personally.
28:39
GN:
How old were the girls then?
28:41
RP:
Michelle, the oldest was first year college so we left her here. Brian was going to be a
junior. He was playing at Lourdes and he became the Alaska State player of the year which he
never would have had in New York State. Carrie was third-grade and Kristen was seventh-grade
so you know is a good mix and but in retrospect, it probably from my personal advancement was
a very good move you know because enable me to get the next job at the University of Rhode
Island you know.
29:13
GN:
How long were in Alaska?
29:14
RP:
Eight years, eight years. But we hit in the right time in a sense they had the great
Alaska shootout. They just moved out from the very poor facility into a brand-new basketball
arena, downtown. They're on probation with the NCAA. They had a lot of problems which in my
mind were pretty easy to fix and with some help from the chancellor-president. And the great
Alaska shootout at that time I was able to get E.S.P.N was just evolving so we came back to New
York a few times on the second year we had E.S.P.N covering the games because late night up
earlier up there is late night here and it fit right in there program so that generated more money
and then we were able to get very good teams and then advance hockey into national the W.C.H
A as well. So it was a good job in a sense because they need some direction.
30:14
GN:
You are more of athletic director.


Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

17

30:16
RP:
Athletic director right. No more coaching at that point and there aren’t many teams up
there but going back to here is some of the memories is you know I coached tennis at those old
courts down at the side down there that were developed right.
30:32
GN:
The ball didn't always bounce right.
30:33
RP:
No well it hit of those back walls we taught. And Bill Austin and I did a course work
for our master's degree at Southern Connecticut. We did a teaching tennis down there and it's the
funniest thing we look back at it, you know. We had to hit forehand, backhand again but that you
know when I think back of the crazy things you do that that we play tennis matches down there. I
think Louise Greenspan might have develop that you know a little bit so that with the wall that
were sideways you remember that?
31:03
GN:
making the deal with the city.
31:04
RP:
Good point yeah.
31:05
GN:
Take the sand out of there it use to be the reservoir.
31:08
RP:
That's right and the courts were a little tilted but that was kind of a home advantage.
31:13
GN:
Good for training. You could play right after the storm but I still have a couple of
pictures. At home of the women’s team and the men’s team, we had some good men's players at
that time probably. Again when you think back I think, Gus evolving this whole program to get
larger and larger to get more kids to come to school and playing in sports.
31:36
GN:
How big was Alaska? How big was the college?
31:40
RP:
Oh fifteen thousand but a lot of day hops remember in Anchorage you have two
major facilities for the armed forces and the army bases, the two big bases so they had young
kids a lot there that were going to school and families would be there the wives would come and.
As that program was there but it needs to join in to a league I guess I am pretty good at getting
into leagues honesty because starting through here and so we got them into conferences and got


Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

18

the hockey team into what's called the Western Collegiate Hockey Association so we were very
successful with those programs.
32:23
GN:
Ray and Maureen Murphy. They were talking. She was a travel agent at one time and
they got a lot of traveling things done and they went to Alaska and the cab driver taking from the
airport to the hotel where you're from Poughkeepsie. Oh we have a coach up there, Ron Pietro.
Even among the cab drivers you were known.
32:41
RP:
I was there at the right time I guess you know it evolved just as that program was
growing so it was a good job and then I also got into the NCAA Council from the Western
region so that certainly helped me gain in knowledge of how to do things with the NCAA as well
and so you know, we were president of two or three conferences but we're dealing with
Colorado, New Mexico you know the travel difference was so significant. I mean three and a
half hours from Anchorage to Seattle before you then started playing other teams but just think
of that conference was Hawaii, Montana, Washington, Colorado and Alaska, you know. So you
know the travel already have ten schools involved and still going on you know at the Division-
Two level but the great Alaskan shootout was the component that brought the city together, eight
or nine thousand people with television and good teams and good relationships back then when it
was
33:48
GN:
Big time.
33:49
RP:
Yeah, I really it was at that point we had Jerry Tarkanian was there. Rollie Massimino
was there you know teams that had just won the national championships. And again my kind
wife here we used invited a lot of the coach, Valvano was there. Great story with a Calipari
because he was at U.Mass and he comes out. He has no money and we gave him the ski van and
he drove around and he won the tournament. And he evolve from there. He still remembers that
so we were able because of my contacts really through Marist in this whole Northeast sector


Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

19

were always over to referees and teams from the East Coast to come there at the time and that's
what made it so says successful.
34:36
GN:
What's the move to Rhode Island where is that fit in this now.
34:39
RP:
We have been there eight Years seven or eight years we started looking around to
move. Yeah, I think we grew up on the East Coast and so to be in Alaska for ever was I don’t
think our goal so it evolved.
34:54
GN:
It’s dark there a lot.
34:57
RP:
So that job came up and you know I've been really Alaska is division two except for
hockey and skiing so I started looking at division one jobs, smaller jobs that I thought I could get
so we got hired in 1992 so we have been in Alaska eighty four to ninety two, eight years and you
know that's probably when you look at it with administrators that six to ten year time period, it is
time to move on to get better at something but the Alaska thing personally which would need to
know at all really helped us out because every time after eight years you get vested after five and
a health insurance is paid it was just a wonderful thing and being a little naive going in because
the salary was double of Marist for doing one thing but it's really helped us out in our lives for …
the rest of our lives you know and so it was a good move. And Rhode Island came up which was
a Division one. Kind of the same thing happened there was we have an old building as athletic
director again, athletic Recreation. Now we talking twenty-two sports and significant you know
state institution. That was the other thing in Marist does private institution dealing with Jerry
Cox and the president you know trying with budgets and everything and working interior but
when you went to the public institutions was a whole different story. Bidding, everything got bid
out going through centralization. You know different types of budgeting different types of
analysis of the budget and so to get good training in Alaska which really helped in Rhode Island.
36:45
GN:
And how long were then in Rhode Island?


Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

20

36:46
RP:
Twelve years.
36:47
GN:
Twelve years in Rhode Island, okay.
36:50
RP:
From ’84 to ‘92, ’92 to 2004 and then we had decided it was time to retire from that
and so we went to Hilton Head. We’re trying to decide what to do and I had a couple of job
interviews and the executive director of the women's Final Four was in Boston in 2006 and so
they're looking for an executive director and Harvard and Northeastern where there are two key
components as the institutions that help sponsor that. And I knew the athletic director at
Northeastern really well and there’s a woman at Harvard so I went through that interview stage
and we were down in Hilton Head for what three weeks. And we moved back up to Boston and it
was a base. What was really neat about that job, it was one sport. Basketball, women’s basketball
and there are some fundraising involved. We had to raise maybe I think two million dollars
working with the community but they had a good foundation of that. We have Reebok. We had a
lot of state bank. It was Governor Romney at the time so he was interested because he had just
run the Olympics. So it was not very difficult to raise two million dollars to support that in
Boston because it was a big deal as they never had a NCAA women’s tournament and the event
sold out and Maryland won in overtime. It was a great event. For us personally, we knew it was
going to end. Again you know so it was a year and a half staying in Boston and administrating
one sport. And once NCAA women's committee came in, I mean they had big booklets and you
just turn the page and followed whatever they want to do but it was a different job because then
you had the organization of the police because we needed… you know at that level they're flying
charters in and taking…
38:48
GN:
Did you have secretarial help? Did you have assistants?
38:50
RP:
We had a group of three but maybe not too many you know maybe it was a staff of
four. Because once the NCAA comes in, I mean they have all the help. You just kind of follow


Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

21

them. You know keep it within the community and go from there. So that was a great transition
from being an athletic director you know of twenty-two sports and five hundred student athletes
and all the responsibilities of a twenty million dollars budget to this budget, one spot, kind of a
guiding light with the NCAA.
39:22
GN:
Reflect a little bit back to Marist to summer program. Did you organize those?
39:26
RP:
Absolutely, Lee Sebarti, who’s a graduate here who I cut from the basketball team
who has been very successful in a sporting goods business. We started with the camps with
basketball. Rich Stevens was cross-country. This is a pretty good story I think. Bill Austin would
do the rowing, you know and we had and we just had as many camps. I think at one time we
probably had eight camps going on at the same time between wrestling…
39:54
GN:
The dormitories as well.
39:55
RP:
Dormitory… Put them in dormitories as well as overnight camps. Everybody's heard
about Nike and when Rich Stevens we have Marty Liquori some very famous cross-country
runners coming up for his camp. We have seventy eighty kids running across the mid-Hudson
Bridge and back. Stevens would go out in the morning we wouldn't see him till late afternoon till
he came back for lunch. So one time this blue truck comes down from New Hampshire called
Blue Ribbon Sports and Phil Knight who's the founder of Nike was in New Hampshire is selling
shoes with this waffle back shoe might remember and that's where it came from. So he came
down here to Rich Steven and trying to sell the shoe and Marty Liquori was here and some other
famous guys. I mean really it is initiation of Nike back on east coast before he moved it out to
the west and became such a successful program. So that was… let’s see we had wrestling,
basketball. We had swimming with Larry VanWagner. We had crew. We have Larry Menapace
science camp one year.
41:04

SP:
We had a

hiking camp […]


Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

22

41:06

RP:
My friend Jack Carrie from Manhattan came up hiking. I think we had eight at the
same time so what was important was that the college was getting some money for the dorms not
a lot but I mean it was certainly filled there.

41:18
GN:
And doing good.

41:19
RP:
And feeding them you know so you're paying that part of it as well and we were
having some fun. And early on whatever money we made, I wasn’t taking a big salary, we put
back into the athletic program to buy uniforms or to help subsidize athletics. That was my
probably weird thinking back then to put some back in so we had some really fun stories but
remember we were working out of one gymnasium so what's down beyond the library was a big
parking lot there. We had six basketball courts down there then using the field for cross-country
running down at the boathouse for the crew that was a pretty influential part of our lives because
it kept us going in the summer and I think it really transitioned Marist too. You know kids in the
dorms with a little extra money so it works for everybody and we were able to provide some
extra dollars for coaches.
42:19
GN:
To this day, it’s a big program.
42:20
GN:
Yeah I think the last time we're here maybe when Howard died Howard Goldman
died. We're down at the Marriott down here and a kid behind a desk checked us in said, “Mr.
Pietro I was at your basketball camp.” Now remember Digger Phelps came up here we had Jack
Molloy, Jack Current from a Malloy High School had his camp here and so we have Billy Pauls,
from the New York St John's University, so I think it was really a good thing for the community
as well maybe I didn’t even realize it at the time but and it was for boys and girls and I have… I
still remember some girls coming and saying the same thing, “Oh I went to your camp.” So that
was instrumental in a number of ways until the last year, I really did take a lot of money from
ourselves and then the last year over last two years I finally said, “Geez, Ron you know I put a


Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

23

lot of times salary but all our kids went to the camps. You know the camp that our children
remembers little peoples what Bob Lynch. That was terrific that then became junior counselors I
guess and whatever. But that whole environment and still and being young and maybe foolish
goes back to what we said in the beginning you know had all these young men like yourself, and
Kelly, Casey, you know all those guys.
43:42
GN:
And there's a pool over here before you got the McCann Center.
43:45
RP:
Right.
43:46
GN:
That was earlier.
43:48
RP:
That was earlier but that was probably a great area for young families you know to get
together and see each other outside the teaching college curriculum so to speak. Yeah, I mean
Sally remembered that and sitting by there and a place to go in the early, early days.
44:10
GN:
Let move it to the present day now. What’s your thought about the students today?
Do you have a chance to comment about the contrast between the changing times?
44:20
RP:
I think the technology is so different now than what we had. I would tell you that it
was a big deal for us to videotape a game in any sport. Whether it be football or basketball and
then take those videotapes, drive them down New Jersey to get them done overnight. Somebody
picking them up the next morning, you know paying a small fee for that. Now the technology for
the coaching for the student athletes is so different and so more advanced than we ever had then
so I think that's a significant difference where people can analyze themselves. So the coaching
technique is a little bit different as well because you can show … There's a video out there that
say you’re playing football, take any team sport you want, we can isolate you for the whole
game. And you'll see every move that you made and it's not a hard thing anymore. You know
back then you're just trying to get the gosh-darn thing to show and putting people to sleep.
45:20
GN:
Try sitting in the stands sometimes to take pictures of it.


Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

24

45:22
RP:
So I think that. I guess my analogy is with the grandkids because you know they're
much more expert in all the little details with the technology than we'll ever be in a sense so I
think that affects the college student as well I mean the advancement in that area so you know.
45:45
GN:
That’s one point. Someone was here talking about is a dormitory is lining up to use
the phone. Just to use the telephone was a big issue.
45:52
RP:
Good point and I remember recruiting an assistant basketball coach, Al Skinner. He
had played overseas and I was down the Jersey shore I am trying to get him on a phone in the
phone booth on the Jersey Turnpike you know back then. Now it's you know you if you don't
have one of these flip-phones, iPhones. Yeah that's the big difference, big difference so I think
from the athletic perspective the approach to coaching is different as well. And I think the
individuals and maybe not … is a lot more I as individuals but we had kids that were I you know
they want, then you have to train them out of that so it became team.
46:36
GN:
Are they more dedicated today to their sport or?
46:42
RP:
To individual sports, I think. Back then it was, maybe because of my background
physical education, but you know you had a wide variety of sports that you would play and then
you emphasize one now. We have a grandson who’s eleven years old playing AAU basketball,
played forty games last year you know over the course of the winter, which is very unusual. You
know so but that's the way it is. So now I think the younger kids and the parents that are getting
them into these leagues and emphasizing one sport in the hopes that they'll be excellent that
sport. So the overall athletic back ground is minimal as far as participation. And they’d rather go
and play with the electronic games you know and football or basketball instead of participation.
So that's that I see is a significant difference but athletes are trained better. The population is
bigger and stronger so you know it's hard and I think the advancement of African-Americans into
professional sports is so significant now too.


Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

25

47:45
GN:
I think contrast Marist itself in the development of the staffing. I mean look at what's
going on in the McCann now you know. You had a handful of guys now one department has
more than you had.
48:02
RP:
Absolutely. Good point, very good point but you know smaller but you have twenty-
two sports though now for men and women. And I find the difference is the across the board
starting the professional ranks to the college rank is the number of assistants have evolved into
like I need we use to do… We had one assistant and did everything basically now you have one
person doing the recruiting, one doing offence, one doing defense you know so there's and now
five or six you probably see that in basketball is five or six assistants, three on a bench and it's
like that all over. I'm not sure that it's needed but that's the way it is.
48:40
GN:
Did you have much of a conflict between student body and athletes? In other words
use of facilities or anything like that?
48:45
RP:
I don't remember that at all as a conflict. It was just a shared thing. We just worked
out a schedule and Howard was always good at that so we just went on and even with the
McCann center as that evolved and he was in there… it was him because he want to do indoor
soccer. But you know it's a scheduling problem which is still alive today with men's and
women's basketball wanting to practice at the same time you know because the classes and
getting volleyball in there at the same time so that's eternal unless you have enough of facilities
that you don't have to worry about that.
49:16
GN:
I've talked in Debbie Bell who's what her name now, anyways, she was in I was
asking whether the students today would have the same opportunity to use the facility. Can they
use the gym? Can they use the pool? Can they use the ball field? And she said, “Oh yea.” She
says, “Till two o’clock in the morning, they're playing intermurals out there right now.” I didn't
know that I don't go by here in two o’clock in the morning to see the place all lit up you know


Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

26

and they will lean over to make it share.
49:47
RP:
And actually when I was at Penn State, my emphasis was recreation so we had that
way back then where there were outdoor fields and playing at eight o'clock or nine o'clock at
night. At Rhode Island, we did that a lot with recreation as well where the students would have
the opportunity to use the fields and have some fun and play sports.
50:06
GN:
Okay, we're getting down to the end the hour and a couple of questions I really want
to get to you to see what you would say on it because of your vast experiences. It's a matter of
“how would you talk to those who need to be converted about the worth of college?” Is it worth
going to college? The money, the time, the effort, and at the end of it, you may be not get a job
the one you want. What about that investment?
50:35
RP:
I think it's one of the … For the personal individual to have the accomplishment of
getting a degree, it’s something that's very important in my mind but for the individual is
something that they earned that can never be taken away from them. And there aren't too many
places in life where that can happen you know, in high school but getting beyond high school for
those four years of whatever it takes to getting something that you have earned you, yourself and
then something that you worked hard for over the course of time and there's no doubt in my mind
whether there are jobs available or not. The person who has a college degree is going to
definitely have an advantage over someone who doesn't have a college degree. So, yes. Time
energy, money, you know plenty of us have gone through it over a period of time in whether we
have loans. Or you know, you had scholarships or just worked. I still think it's one of the most
important things in the United States is to continue the higher education so that people are
educated.
51:35
GN:
And the quality of life the people you meet.
51:37
RP:
Absolutely. The experiences that you gain whether you’re a day-op, whether you're


Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

27

playing sports, whether you're in a dorm and people talk about that way beyond … what happen
in the classroom.
51:50
GN:
You've been around the world really in sports and coaching and all of that. If you had
a chance to go to the board of directors here, the board of trustees, what would you tell them
about preserving Marist?
52:05
RP:
To continue, I think I would commend them for advancing the facilities to be
competitive in their conference because without the facilities and training and to attract good
student-athletes and I was still call them student-athletes, that's very important I think they've
done that with the advancement of that baseball field. Whoever thought that there would be a
baseball field there. When we didn't even have the McCann center. But and you know obviously
I think they're renovating the gym now you know it's a good size for here with Tenney adding.
So you're getting other areas that make it easier for student athletes to come here because of the
facilities and I really think that's important. So continue where they are. I don't think Marist is
ever going be University of Kentucky or anything like that. But they’ve been very successful
within their conference. I mean if you look back and seen what with that conference every year
they drive the student-athletes that are academically sound. They've won a conference eight or
nine years in a row and you can publicize that and it makes people feel good about it so my
report would be stay on the course that you are, continue to improve the facility and you know
support the teams.
53:24
GN:
Yeah, I think we're one of the highest in that country.
53:27
RP:
Without a doubt.
53:28
GN:
In terms of four-year graduates. I mean you go through you can play sports but you
gotta stay in the classroom.
53:34
RP:
I agree but that league is like that the league that they're in Manhattan and Niagara


Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

28

and you know Canisius. I think the emphasis in that Catholic education is that most schools have
high graduation rates too and high indexes but Marist has stood out above all that league so that's
really good. So it's a nice thing and I think when we get the bowl pins and the emphasis on which
I think Dennis Murray deserves a lot of credit. We used to laugh. He always had a picture in
every single magazine but his public relations is very good in the magazines that came out I
thought excellent to continue that whenever he leaves because that's an important selling product
I think for the college.
54:20
GN:
Is there something we might change?
54:23
RP:
Well you know I don't know enough about. I think all the building they all look great
you know I don't know how you can make it much better. What's the enrollment now I mean?
54:38
GN:
Four thousand here but we got another four hundred Italy. And four hundred
somewhere else. Florence is a big program.
54:45
RP:
I don't think you wanted to get too big either you know. The campus is nice. I
remember John Gartland saying that at one meeting when we were doing the McCann Center
trying to put something under the road and he said, “Oh we can never do that the state all that.”
And gosh it's right here.
55:00
GN:
And done in eight days something like that. They were able to close route nine and
just drop it in there this summer. Linus Foy was out there taking pictures you know.
55:12
RP:
That’s pretty cool
.
So when you think I mean when you think it’s a long time and Sal
and I were talking about that driving down and you know thirty years but it's evolved into you
know really a great institution with everything that's needed for this, in a sense, a small college.
55:27
GN:
Part of a thing is the spirit that you guys brought you know the Donnelly Building,
the same circle you had nowhere to go in fact we had a dormitory in there one time.
55:41
RP:
We had our offices in there one year too. I think in athletics, I remember not Howard


Ron Pietro – 07 October 2011

29

but Bill. Well because we have this one… Bill and I both had our office sucked in like yeah for a
couple in over here.
55:51
GN:
Spacious office with a nice lounge chairs, telephones. Not really.
55:57
RP:
We did have our offices there yes. It's come all along way and to be part of something
like that really it makes us feel good about that because to think the community of people at the
time all the young growing you have probably gave the foundation for the place to be successful.
56:15
GN:
Yeah and I think that part of there is a certain spirit that remains here because you
guys buried it and you know had the roots that this is what goes up the Marist kids seem to draw
a similar kind of Marist kids you know. And even though as I was saying to Sally neither of us
would probably be able to get in here now or afford it.
56:37
RP:
But you know the money’s kind of the same all over so whatever it is it is. You pay
fifty thousand to go to Harvard now so people somehow do it.
56:50
GN:
And you can go to Vassar and pay a lot but they don't have the river.
56:52
RP:
That’s exactly right. That opening up and expansion is fabulous you know from over
here now. But what I like is that the buildings are all similar you know so it gives you a nice look
to the whole place.
57:10
GN:
Well,

Ron it was a good run. I am so glad you came by is something we'll be able to
put down will be recorded. it's recorded here by the disc along with the other seventy-four people
that you saw listed there and I thank you very much for it as Sally be his support just all the way
through this feeding the team and feeding him and keeping us all alive.