Robert Morris University women’s basketball head coach Sal Buscaglia announced Saturday that 2015-16 will be his final season at the helm of the Colonials program. Currently in his 12th season at Robert Morris, Coach Sal, as he is respectfully called, led the women’s basketball program through a rebirth and into a golden age.
"After last year’s championship season, I started to have serious thoughts about retirement," said Buscaglia. "And when you have thoughts about it, it’s time to do it. It’s been a great run of nearly 40 years and I look forward to this year’s playoffs and next year as well.
"It’s time to enter a new chapter in my life before the pages run out. I want to have time with my daughter Deanna’s family, including three grandchildren, Linda, family and friends and to experience other things."
Coach Sal has more 20 win seasons, Northeast Conference championships and postseason tournament berths than the program’s first four coaches combined. Under his leadership, the Colonials claimed NEC Tournament titles and NCAA Tournament berths in 2007, 2008 and 2014. In all, RMU has been to six national tournaments in seven seasons, a span that dates back to 2007. The Colonials five regular season championships and three NCAA Tournament berths over the past 11 seasons are tied for most in the league.
"Coach Sal has been considering retirement for over the last year," said RMU Director of Athletics Craig Coleman. "Since winning the conference championship last season, he has finally come to the decision that it’s time to pass the torch after an extremely successful run at Robert Morris and even previous to RMU. We look forward to another great season next year under Sal’s leadership and we’ll be forever grateful for the way he’s turned this program around over the past 12 seasons."
A key part in the team’s success, associate head coach Charlie Buscaglia has been named coach in waiting and will take over the Robert Morris program for the 2016-17 season. The recruiting coordinator for the past 12 seasons was promoted from assistant to associate head coach prior to the 2008-09 season and has been a part of Coach Sal’s staff for the past 16 seasons.
"I have been very fortunate to have shared all the NCAA Tournament experiences with my associate head coach and my son Charlie who is a big reason for not only the seasons at past schools, but also RMU. He will do a great job. I’m very proud," said Sal Buscaglia.
"Charlie has long been an integral part of the success of our program with increasing responsibilities over the years," said Coleman. "We are grateful that we will be able to maintain continuity in the program under Charlie’s leadership to ensure that we will have great success in years to come. "
When Coach Sal arrived at Robert Morris in 2003-04, the women’s basketball team had not had a winning season since 1988-89. Inheriting a team that had gone 1-26, his first RMU squad went 3-24. Given a year to recruit, however, the 2004-05 team posted the third biggest turnaround in NCAA Division I history to finish with a record of 20-10.
Since that turnaround campaign, Robert Morris has experienced a golden age of women’s basketball. The Colonials are 141-57 (.712) in NEC play since 2004-05, the second best winning percentage over that span producing three regular season championships. For his part, Coach Sal has been named the Brenda Reilly NEC Coach of the Year three times. He has won over 200 games at RMU is approaching 700 career victories with a 690-355 career record.
Coach Sal began his coaching career in 1977-78 at Hilbert College with the team’s first full season of competition in 1978-79. His penchant for championships began there. In 12 seasons at Hilbert, he made the National Junior College Association of America (NJCAA) National Tournament eight times while posting a record of 253-55.
Following that, he helped the University at Buffalo make the transition to Division I and go 23-6 in its initial DI campaign. The Bulls would win East Conference Regular Season Championships from 1992 through 1994. Although the school moved to the Mid-Continent Conference in 1994, the team’s winning tradition did not change. Sal Buscaglia’s Buffalo squad won the regular season title in 1995 and won 20 games in its first three seasons in the league.
Before Robert Morris, Coach Sal spent five seasons at Manhattan College (1998-2003). In just his second season at Manhattan, Sal Buscaglia led the Lady Jaspers to a 17-win season, marking the fifth most victories in school history, and was recognized as the 24th most improved team in NCAA Division I. Coach Sal spent five seasons there, going to the NCAA Tournament in his final season with the Jaspers.
"It was a very hard decision for Coach Sal to retire," said associate head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "Being alongside him the last 12 years at RMU, I can only imagine how hard of a decision it was to make after coaching for 39 years. It’s a big step for him to make the decision to walk away from coaching. He is going to be leaving behind a great career and legacy. It will be a hard act to follow."
Sal Buscaglia’s impressive resumé includes 16 coach of the year awards, including winning the Brenda Reilly NEC Coach of the Year three times at RMU. He earned coach of the year at Manhattan three times as well, twice at Buffalo and eight consecutive seasons from 1983 through 1990 at Hilbert.
"I would like to thank all the assistant coaches and staff along with the great players and people I had the pleasure to coach," said Coach Sal. "I’d also like to thank all those that continue to support the program, especially President Dell’Omo and Craig Coleman. As I have said many times, the best career decision I have made is to coach at Robert Morris."
Charlie Buscaglia – Coach B as players and staff call him – has been involved in all aspects of the program, but especially recruiting. His rundown of NEC award winners is a virtual who’s-who among NEC stars.
"Being here this whole time with him at Robert Morris, experiencing the success he’s had, helping him as his right hand man is different than somebody just walking into the program and taking over with a different staff and different ideas," said Charlie Buscaglia. "I’m my own person, but I have learned a lot from Coach Sal. He has done a great job of leading RMU women’s basketball during his tenure here. I’m excited about the opportunity in front of me. I’m proud to be given the respect and confidence to lead this program and continue to bring in strong student-athletes. I would like to thank Dr. Dell’Omo and Craig Coleman, as well as all the members of the cabinet and he Board of Trustees. They have given me 100 percent confidence to continue on what Coach Sal has started as head coach of this basketball program at Robert Morris."
The all-star cavalcade began with the signing of Sugeiry Monsac in 2004. Monsac was the 2004-05 NEC Player of the Year who has gone on to play in the Israeli Division I League for the last four seasons. She was followed by a pair of 2006 All-NEC selections in Psyche Butler and Natasha Summerville.
His strong recruiting record was noticed nationally when his class for the 2006-07 season received national recognition for having a top 50 recruiting class by the Adidas All-Star Report.
Charlie Buscaglia pulled off another recruiting coup when he signed University of Kentucky recruit Sade Logan in the 2006 recruiting class. Logan, who was a top-20 player coming out of high school, earn NEC Player of the Year honors in 2008, tying the NCAA Division I record for three-pointers with 126. She finished third in the nation in scoring at 24.7 points per game. Another class of 2006 recruit, Chinata Nesbit, was a two-time All-NEC First Team pick and was twice the NEC Tournament most valuable player. Nesbit is also responsible for the only two triple-doubles in team history.
A less glamorous recruit when she was plucked out of Monroe College, Angela Pace was a diamond in the rough, using her athleticism to become the only player in NEC history to earn both NEC Player of the Year and NEC Defensive Player of the Year honors. The 5-10 guard is the shortest player in team history to record 500 career rebounds, but more amazingly did it in just 2 seasons. Pace has since been playing professionally in Germany since 2010.
In recent seasons, Charlie Buscaglia’s recruiting tendrils have gone international with impressive results. Artemis Spanou, a native of Greece, was a two-time NEC Player of the Year and is the team’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder. The first rookie of the year winner in team history, she was quickly joined by Italian-native Ashley Ravelli who earned NEC Rookie of the Year honors in 2013.
Charlie Buscaglia came to Robert Morris from Manhattan College, the 2003 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Champions and NCAA tournament participant, where he was an assistant from 1998 until 2003. While at Manhattan, Charlie Buscaglia focused mainly on recruiting and developing the perimeter players. He signed Rosalee Mason, who averaged a double-double for the Lady Jaspers and finished her career as Manhattan’s all-time leading rebounder and the leading scorer. Mason is currently playing professionally in Europe.
