Quick Facts
Biography
Lucio "Lou" Rossini (April 24, 1921 – October 21, 2005) was a college men's basketball coach. He compiled a 357–256 record in almost 20 years of coaching, most notably with New York University. Rossini also coached at Columbia University and St. Francis College.
In Rossini's first year as head coach with Columbia University, he guided them to a 21-1 record and a NCAA appearance. After Columbia, Rossini Coached at New York University, leading them to 3 NCAA appearances and 4 NIT bids in 13 seasons. Rossini last coached in the NCAA for St. Francis of Brooklyn from 1975 to 1979 and had a 55-48 record. He also coached the Puerto Rican national team in the 1964 and 1968 Olympics and the Qatar national team in the 1980s.
Two of his best players at NYU were Happy Hairston and Barry Kramer, who starred on the 1963 and 1964 teams. Hairston and Kramer advanced to professional careers. He also coached Puerto Rico's national team at the 1964 and 1968 Olympics.
He died at his home in the Sewell section of Mantua Township, New Jersey, aged 84. The cause of death was Alzheimer's disease.
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Lions (Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League) (1950–1954) | |||||||||
| 1950–1951 | Columbia | 21-1 | 12-0 | 1st | NCAA First Round | ||||
| 1951–1952 | Columbia | 12-10 | 7-5 | 4th | |||||
| 1952–1953 | Columbia | 17-10 | 8-4 | 2nd | |||||
| 1953–1954 | Columbia | 11-13 | 6-8 | 5th | |||||
| Columbia Lions (Ivy League) (1954–1958) | |||||||||
| 1954–1955 | Columbia | 17-8 | 10-4 | T-2nd | |||||
| 1955–1956 | Columbia | 15-9 | 9-5 | T-2nd | |||||
| 1956–1957 | Columbia | 18-6 | 9-5 | T-3rd | |||||
| 1957–1958 | Columbia | 6-18 | 2-12 | 8th | |||||
| Columbia: | 117-71 | 63-43 | |||||||
| NYU Violets (Metropolitan New York Conference) (1958–1963) | |||||||||
| 1958–1959 | NYU | 15-8 | 2-2 | T-4th | |||||
| 1959–1960 | NYU | 22-5 | 4-0 | 1st | NCAA Final Four | ||||
| 1960–1961 | NYU | 12-11 | 2-1 | T-2nd | |||||
| 1961–1962 | NYU | 20-5 | 3-2 | 3rd | NCAA East Regional | ||||
| 1962–1963 | NYU | 18-5 | 3-1 | 2nd | NCAA East Regional | ||||
| NYU Violets (Independent) (1963–1965) | |||||||||
| 1963–1964 | NYU | 17-10 | NIT Semifinals | ||||||
| 1964–1965 | NYU | 16-10 | NIT Semifinals | ||||||
| NYU Violets (Metropolitan Collegiate Conference) (1965–1967) | |||||||||
| 1965–1966 | NYU | 18-10 | 7-2 | T-2nd | NIT Semifinals | ||||
| 1966–1967 | NYU | 10-6 | 6-3 | 4th | |||||
| NYU Violets (Independent) (1967–1971) | |||||||||
| 1967–1968 | NYU | 8-16 | |||||||
| 1968–1969 | NYU | 12-9 | |||||||
| 1969–1970 | NYU | 12-12 | |||||||
| 1970–1971 | NYU | 5-20 | |||||||
| NYU: | 185-127 | Metro NY: 14-6 MCC: 13-5 | |||||||
| St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers (Independent) (1975–1979) | |||||||||
| 1975–1976 | St. Francis (NY) | 13-13 | |||||||
| 1976–1977 | St. Francis (NY) | 12-14 | |||||||
| 1977–1978 | St. Francis (NY) | 16-9 | |||||||
| 1978–1979 | St. Francis (NY) | 14-12 | |||||||
| St. Francis (NY): | 55-48 | ||||||||
| Total: | 357-256 | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||