Pistone leaves Southern Maine for FGCU
Joe Pistone has stepped down as the head coach at the University of Southern Maine in order to accept a position as head coach of the Florida Gulf Coast University NCWA team. Pistone coached at Southern Maine for 12 seasons and won over 100 dual meets with the Huskies. In 2014-2015, Southern Maine won 16 duals, sent a pair of wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, and Daniel Del Gallo was the recipient of the Elite 89 award given to the NCAA qualifier with the highest cumulative GPA.
Florida Gulf Coast University is an NCAA Division I school with an NCWA wrestling program. The team sent three wrestlers to the NCWA Championships last year with Noah Huxley placing 4th in the NCWA-only weight of 235 lbs. The school, located in Fort Myers, Florida, is perhaps best known for its 2013 “Dunk City” basketball team that made it to the NCAA Sweet 16 as a 15th seed.
Pistone replaces outgoing coach Pat Milkovich, a National Wrestling Hall of Fame member, 2x NCAA Division I champion, and a 4x NCAA finalist for Michigan State. Milkovich had coached the team since the 2011-2012 season.
The move has not yet been officially announced on the Southern Main website, but this post will update once a succession plan is announced.