|
| Richard Stockton athletics photo |
Stockton women's basketball coach Joe Fussner is retiring after 410 wins in 26 seasons on the Osprey bench. Fussner coached his final game at Stockton on Feb. 20 and his retirement will become official when his current contract expires on June 30. Fussner went 410-282 (.592 winning percentage) in three stints as the head coach of the Ospreys (1982-85, 1987-89, 1997-2018).
Fussner was at the helm for both of the program's NJAC championships (2000, 2005) as well as all seven of its NCAA Tournament berths (1984, 00, 05, 06, 11, 15, 16). He helmed the Ospreys to at least one NCAA Tournament win in four of their seven appearances. His Osprey teams also played in the ECAC Metro Tournament nine times, winning twice (2001, 2012).
Fussner's teams won at least 17 games in 15 of his 26 seasons, including a school-record 22 victories three times (2005-06, 2014-15, 2015-16), and he was voted NJAC Coach of the Year twice (1988, 2000). Fussner produced the program's first 20-win season in 1983-84, coached his fourth-seeded squad to upsets over the top two seeds in the 2000 NJAC Tournament to win the crown and led the 2005-06 team to the best start in school history (11-0).
Earlier this season, Fussner earned his 400th win at Stockton with a victory over New Jersey City on Jan. 10. He became just the third coach in Stockton history with 400 wins in a single sport, joining Gerry Matthews (men's basketball) and Val Julien (softball).
In addition to his 26 seasons at Stockton, Fussner was a highly successful coach at Atlantic City High School. From 1974-81, Fussner led the Atlantic City girls team to a 167-18 record, two Group IV state championships, four South Jersey titles and seven Cape Atlantic League crowns.
Between 1988 and 1995, Fussner coached the Atlantic City boys team to a 145-24 mark and six Cape Atlantic League titles. His combined high school/college coaching record for his career is a lofty 722-324, and he is a member of the South Jersey Basketball Hall of Fame and South Jersey Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Milestones:
First Win – Stockton 58, Livingston 55 (Dec. 2, 1982)
100th Win – Stockton 56, William Paterson 48 (Feb. 13, 1999)
200th Win – Stockton 47, Montclair State 42 (Feb. 12, 2005)
300th Win – Stockton 89, Hunter 85 (Jan. 16, 2012)
400th Win – Stockton 102, New Jersey City 31 (Jan. 10, 2018)
410th (Final) Win – Stockton 55, Rutgers-Camden 43 (Feb. 17, 2018)