BRONX, NY (May 18, 2006) – Cathy Andruzzi has been named head women’s basketball coach at Fordham University, it was announced today. Andruzzi comes to the Rams from Seton Hall University, where she was the assistant women’s basketball coach last year. She is the ninth head women’s basketball coach at Fordham in the program’s 29-year history.
“I am thrilled to have this opportunity to lead the women’s basketball program at a university as academically outstanding and rich with athletic tradition as Fordham,” said Andruzzi, who has more than 25 years of experience in women’s basketball as a player, coach, educator and administrator. “The University’s administration is strongly committed to the women’s basketball program and I am excited about our future. And I am especially pleased to be part of the Atlantic 10 conference, a league with a strong history in women’s basketball.”
Andruzzi, a Staten Island, N.Y., native, got her start as a player on the Queen’s College team that went 22-5 and soared to the No. 2 ranking nationally in 1972-1973. She and her teammates that season were honored in 2004 as the first women’s team to be inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. She graduated from Queens College, part of the City University of New York, with a degree in health education in 1974.
Andruzzi began her coaching career as the head coach at Wagner College. After two years on Grymes Hill, she moved on to East Carolina University, where in her first season she led the Pirates to the school’s only top-20 national ranking, with an 18-11 record. In her fourth year as coach, Andruzzi led the team to its first and only NCAA Tournament appearance. She also coached the program’s first All-American and pioneered a season-ticket program that broke the school’s previous attendance record for men’s and women’s basketball. Her record with the Pirates earned Andruzzi a spot in the East Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.
Prior to her tenure at Seton Hall, Andruzzi served as an assistant coach at Rutgers University, helping the Scarlet Knights recruit one of the nation’s top classes in 2003-2004. She served as the general manager of the American Basketball League’s Philadelphia Rage from 1997 to 2000, and as the executive director of Philadelphia Women’s Basketball 2000, the local organizing committee for the 2000 NCAA Women’s Final Four. Under Andruzzi’s leadership, the Final Four had one of the largest fund-raising campaigns in women’s basketball history, and brought national accolades for the city of Philadelphia.
“We are excited that Cathy Andruzzi has accepted our invitation to join the Rams,” said Frank McLaughlin, Fordham’s executive director of athletics. “She brings a tremendous resume, with experience as a player, teacher, coach and administrator, and we look forward to benefiting from that experience here at Fordham.”
