Episode 80: Joe Campoli - Retired Head Basketball Coach - Ohio Northern University (Ada, Ohio)

Basketball and Life: with Coach Jon Cook

After spending 17 years as an assistant coach at Ohio Northern University, Joe Campoli was appointed ONU’s head coach in 1992, at the age of 49, and became only the second first-year head coach to win an NCAA Division III national championship. Over 13 years in which there was not a losing season, ONU teams coached by Campoli won 254 games and lost 101. His .715 winning percentage is the all-time high at Ohio Northern. The Polar Bears won five Ohio Athletic Conference championships and four OAC Tournaments. They made seven NCAA Tournament appearances and two trips to the Final Four. They defeated Augustana (Ill.) for the 1993 NCAA Title and returned to the Final Four in 2001, losing to Illinois Wesleyan. Campoli was selected as NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year in 1993 and 2001 and was named OAC Coach of the Year four times. This episode is long overdue, and is very much an attempt to honor a man that means as much or more to me than any other person in the basketball community. I am biased, but the man is an absolute treasure and I am truly honored to allow him to share some of his story about Basketball and Life.