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USF Soccer Legend Steve Negoesco to be Inducted into Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
Oct. 6, 2009
(San Francisco) - After winning championships at nearly every level possible, USF soccer legend Steve Negoesco will be inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame along with four other sports icons Monday, March 22, 2010 at the Westin St. Francis Hotel. The NSCAA Hall of Fame coach spent 38 years as the head coach at the University of San Francisco, directing the Dons to a then NCAA record 540 career wins and five NCAA Championships. Negoesco will be enshrined with Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, Olympic figure skating champion Brian Boitano, baseball great Bert Campaneris and ex-49er receiver R.C. Owens. The first coach in NCAA history to surpass 500 career victories, Negoesco is a member of the 31st BASHOF class and is the first inducted for the sport of soccer. "It was an honor to hear that they were thinking of me, but I didn't do this because I expected anything" Negoesco said. "It's nice because it shows that all of us can do an awful lot of good all over the world if we work at it without expecting anything in return. When you can do that, it's a blessing when you can do more than take care of yourself. I've always felt that way. I never thought about awards or anything because it has cost me a lot of money (coaching) and I'm never going to get it back." Negoesco becomes the 10th former USF athlete or coach to be inducted into the BASHOF. Basketball's KC Jones, Pete Newell, Bill Russell Fred Scolari and Phil Woolpert; football's Gino Marchetti, Ollie Matson, Bob St. Clair and Burl Toler also were elected by a panel of 70 Bay Area journalists and broadcasters. "On behalf of USF Athletics and the University of San Francisco, we are proud of enormous accomplishments Coach Negoesco has contributed to our institution and most importantly, the community," USF Athletic Director Debra Gore-Mann said. "Coach Negoesco embodies the universities mission of "educating minds and hearts to change the world". We are elated to see Steve recognized by the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame for his tireless efforts on behalf of his community, university and the sport of soccer."
In addition to becoming the first All-American selected from the West Coast as a player at USF under the direction of NSCAA Hall of Fame Coach Gus Donoghue, Negoesco helped the Dons to a co-championship in the 1950 College Soccer Bowl. After working as a school teacher, Negoesco returned to coach at his alma mater in 1962. "I got hired by (USF Athletic Director) Pete Peletta and he gave me $300 per year and when he told me this I started laughing. When he asked me what I was laughing at I said, `You, because you offered me $300. What am I going to do with all that money?'" In his fifth season as the top Don, Negoesco guided the Green and Gold to the first of five NCAA Championships in 1966. The vast majority of the players on the roster were native San Franciscans, who already had a long established connection with Negoesco. "To think that a school having three tuition waivers could win a national championship against the eastern and Midwestern teams was unheard of, but that's exactly what we did and that was a big, big accomplishment," Negoesco said. "Most of the kids that I had, I raised them right here in San Francisco. They were my former players from my youth teams that decided to come to USF because I was at USF." As collegiate soccer expanded with other rival programs recruiting heavily in the Bay Area, Negoesco adjusted his approach and began recruiting internationally - one of the first among his contemporaries to do so. As a global university in one of the most famous cities in the world, the USF Dons dominated college soccer in the 1970's fielding what Sports Illustrated coined "A United Nations Lineup". From 1975 to 1980, San Francisco won four NCAA Championships (1975-76, 1978*, 1980) and posted a runner-up finish in 1977. Steve Negoesco's final season as USF's head coach came in 2000 after 778 matches, 540 victories, 34 winning seasons headlined by 30 NSCAA All-American players. Current USF head coach Erik Visser played for Negoesco on the Dons 1978 and 1980 NCAA title teams. A native of Holland, Visser was an assistant coach under Negoesco for 18 years at USF. "It's an extremely well-deserved honor," Visser said. "In addition to his tremendous contributions to college soccer, especially winning the national championships at the University of San Francisco, Steve was one of the founding fathers of youth soccer in the Bay Area. Steve was instrumental in creating many opportunities for coaches that followed in his footsteps. He was a mentor for thousands of families and made a tremendous impact throughout his long career as an educator and coach. Steve was a tremendous role model." STEVE NEGOESCO BY THE NUMBERS ABOUT THE BAY AREA SPORTS HALL OF FAME: One of the main goals of the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame is to enshrine the great athletes of the Bay Area. This process begins with a list of eligible athletes (see criteria below) that is sent to a panel of voters comprised of veteran sportswriters and newscasters from around the Bay Area. The panel votes on contemporary and veteran athletes to be inducted, the votes are tallied, and a press release announces the new class of Enshrinees each fall. The class is then inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame at the Enshrinement Banquet the following spring. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE BASHOF: http://www.bashof.org/ |
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