Over the last three decades, plenty has changed around the Montclair State campus. Once a small state college has now grown into the the second largest university in New Jersey. Buildings have been constructed and the campus population has grown.

Even Sprague Field where the MSU football team plays its home games has undergone an assortment of changes from grass to astroturf to the newly laid Field Turf, which was installed in the June, 2006. Yet through the countless number of changes one thing has remained the same - Rick Giancola.

This season, Giancola will begin his 26th as the head coach of the Red Hawks, one of the longest tenures in the history of Montclair State athletics. In 2007 Giancola was inducted into the Montclair State Athletics Hall of Fame becoming the first person to earn that honor while still active as a player or coach.

History and Giancola, those two words have become synonymous, especially when you talk in the framework of Montclair State football. Counting the eight seasons he spent as an assistant, Giancola and MSU have shared 34 seasons together. And with this being the 77th for the MSU program, Giancola has been part of 40 percent of that history, a remarkable number.

Named the 12th head coach in school history in 1983, Giancola had the daunting task of replacing Fred Hill, who had guided the then-Indians to an 18-2-2 mark over the previous two seasons, which included two New Jersey Athletic Conference championships, a berth in the NCAA Division III semifinals in 1981 and an undefeated mark in 1982. In fact, Giancola’s career got off to an auspicious start – a 20-20 tie.

Soon however, the wins began coming and they seemed to have never stopped. In his 25 seasons roaming the sidelines at Sprague Field, Giancola has compiled an impressive 173-82-2 mark, and a .677 winning percentage which ranks him among the best in Division III. In New Jersey Athletic Conference play, there’s no one better than “Coach G”, who has captured 74 percent of his games, going 101-36.

In addition to his wins and losses he has led Montclair State to eight NJAC titles, helping the school he once competed against run its total to 17 conference crowns since the league began to sponsor the sport in 1969. Seven times he has brought MSU to the NCAA Tournament, reaching the quarterfinals four times, and he also has three ECAC Championships to his credit, including 2007's South Atlantic Bowl title. Giancola also guided his teams to 18 straight NJAC victories from 1984-86, a record that still stands today.

During the 1989 season, Giancola surpassed Hill as the all-time winningest coach in Montclair history when his Red Hawks defeated Ramapo at Sprague Field for his 53rd victory. The win pushed him past Hill in just his seventh season, the same amount of time it took his predecessor to set the mark. Eight years later, Giancola achieved another milestone when he captured victory No. 100 as Montclair downed Wilkes University on a last-second field goal during Homecoming. In 2004, Giancola added yet another milestone as he captured his 150th career win on his 58th birthday making him just the second collegiate coach in New Jersey State history to reach that plateau.

In 2003, Giancola was named the New Jersey Athletic Conference Coach of the Year for the eighth time, when he led the Red Hawks to the NJAC crown and second round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs. Yet when asked about it he used the phrase “WE won the award” sharing his accolade with his staff. “Success”, he says, “is nothing more than surrounding yourself with good people. I am very fortunate to have had the top quality athletes and coaches in this program over the years. I don’t take any credit for success - it belongs to everyone around me.”

But through all the championships, the wins and the difficult losses Giancola remains on an even keel, a steady leader maintaining perspective. He is a players’ coach, one who is quiet yet outspoken, reserved yet

heard. Rarely will you find Giancola display his emotion on the sideline, his stoic demeanor ever present. Yet that doesn’t mean he does not possess one.

In 25 seasons as a head coach, Giancola has had over 1,000 athletes come through his program. Over a dozen of them have been named NCAA Division III All-Americans, while several have gone on to sign professional contracts.

Giancola resides in Cedar Grove with his wife Judy. The couple has two married daughters, Gina (married to Chris Caputo) and Diana (to Rob Mulato), and two granddaughters, Gianna (4) and Adriana (1).