Andy Russo Named FAU's Owl Club Director

Oct. 22, 2003

Boca Raton, FL - Andy Russo will step away from recruiting basketball players, but will continue to promote college athletics and will recruit members for Florida Atlantic University's Owl Club, announced FAU's Director of Athletics Craig Angelos.

"Scholarships are the life blood of successful athletic programs," said Angelos. "It is important for us to bolster this area to continue building upon the department's success. Andy, as a former coach, comes to FAU with the first-hand knowledge of what coaches need and his ties to the community should help as we continue to move ahead. We are extremely please to have him and look forward building our scholarship support."

As Director of the Owl Club, Russo will serve as the director of the booster arm, which will be primarily responsible for developing an athletic scholarship fund. He will also work with the administrative staff and coaches as a liaison between the sports and the boosters.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the new era that President Brogan and Craig Angelos have brought to FAU and look forward to helping build the vision they share," said Russo. "We are thankful to be able to remain in Boca Raton and work with people that are so obviously committed to such a quality athletics program. Hopefully, my experience and hard work will translate into a very positive contribution to the University, the teams, and the community."

Russo came to FAU after a four-year stint at Lynn University where he compiled a record of 66-42, as the Knights men's basketball coach. Prior to Lynn, Russo coached at Florida Tech where he reached the coaching milestone of 300 with a 68-59 victory over Winona State in 1998. He tallied a 125-94 record as the Panthers' head coach and was twice named the Sunshine State Conference Coach-of-the-Year while leading the Panther program to five-consecutive top-three finishes in the SSC.

Russo, who was inducted into the Louisiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999, earned his reputation as a winner in the mid-1980s building the Division I program at Louisiana Tech into a national power. He is also known for helping the development of Karl Malone into an NBA superstar, and valued member of the Gold Medal winning "1992 US Olympic Dream Team". In his final year at Louisiana Tech (1984-85) the Bulldogs established a school record with its 29-3 record, the best in the country. Tech won both the regular season and post-season Southland Conference championships before losing to Oklahoma in the Midwest Regional in Dallas, TX

Tabbed as one of the bright young coaches in the nation after compiling a 122-55 record at Louisiana Tech, Russo accepted the head coaching position at the University of Washington, succeeding the retiring legend Marv Harshman.

With future Philadelphia 76'er first-round draft choice Christian Welp as his center, Russo's 1985-86 Washington team went 19-12, including the school's (and Russo's) third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance. In 1986-87, the Huskies went 20-15 and played in the NIT Tournament, losing to Nebraska, 81-76 in the quarterfinal.

Russo compiled a 61-62 record in four seasons with the Huskies, placing him fourth on the school's all-time victory list. During his tenure at Washington, Russo served as coach of the West All-Star team in the Aloha Classic in Honolulu, HI, and he coached the West squad at the Olympic Festival in North Carolina.

Russo coached in the Italian Basketball League during the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons before accepting the Florida Tech head coaching position. He is currently a member of the NCAA Basketball Rules Committee.

Russo graduated from Lake Forest (IL) College, where he earned a bachelor of art's degree in History. He earned his master's degree in History from Northwestern in 1971 and later did post-graduate work at Texas-El Paso.

Russo is married to the former Jacque Alexander, a practicing dentist. They have a son, Andrew, and a daughter Allie.

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