Matador Hall of Fame Spotlight: Pete Cassidy

The memories of Pete Cassidy with those that know him tell the story of a person who had the opportunity to do what he loved for most of his life.

Sandy Cassidy, his wife of nearly 57 years, can attest that one of his greatest passions was coaching.

"He told me once that he wanted to coach when he was nine years old," said Sandy. "I always used to say to him that 'you're lucky you always did what you wanted to do for most of your life.'"

Pete Cassidy Player — Cassidy was named CSUN
Athlete of the Year in 1960

Cassidy's roots at CSUN can be traced back to its earliest days as an institution when it was known as San Fernando Valley State College.

He played on the first two basketball and baseball teams from 1958-60 and served as team captain on both squads. Cassidy went on to be named a Most Valuable Player in both sports and earned the Athlete of the Year award in 1960.

In most CSUN circles though, he is remembered as one of the top coaches in Matador history.

Cassidy coached countless student-athletes at CSUN from 1966 to 1996, highlighted by a 25-year run as the head men's basketball coach. His fingerprints are all over the team's success over its first four decades and he owns the distinction as the winningest head coach in the history of the program with 335 career victories.

He produced nine All-Americans, 45 all-conference honorees and six Player of the Year winners at CSUN. A two-time District Coach of the Year, Cassidy guided the Matadors to three NCAA Division II Tournament appearances. He also led the team into uncharted Division I waters over his last six years with the program.

Photographs of his time coaching and the countless friendships cultivated over the years surround his home office in Valencia. His accomplishments are almost endless.

The photographic monument to his career and successes are little reminders for a man who is slowly forgetting.

One of the many pictures in his office is of he and John Wooden. It symbolizes a friendship that spanned several decades.

"Right after we were married in the late '60s, coach Wooden had a basketball camp down in Malibu and Pete would go down and work the summers with him," said Sandy. "They became very close."

Pete Cassidy & John Wooden — **John Wooden and Cassidy**

"I loved coaching and of course I had a dear friend in coach Wooden," said Cassidy in a 2013 interview with CSUN Athletics. "Anytime, I had a problem, I'd go to coach and he would help me out and educate me."

Being an educator has always been a big part of Cassidy's career. He began teaching and coaching at Montclair Preparatory School in 1960 where he also served as Director of Athletics. He then became the head basketball and baseball coach at Notre Dame High School for five years while instructing U.S. and World History.

When he returned to his alma mater, Cassidy transitioned into becoming a physical education teacher while working as an assistant to then Matador head coach Jerry Ball.

"I always wanted to be a coach," said Cassidy. "Being asked to come here, after six years of high school ball, that was a blessing."

When Ball left Valley State in 1971, Cassidy took over head coaching duties and would begin his unforgettable run as the leader of the program.

In his first season, he helped the Matadors win a share of the CCAA title with All-American and future NBA player Paul McCracken leading the team in scoring. It would be the first of four conference titles for the "Dean of the CCAA."

Cassidy led the Matadors back to the top of the CCAA in 1977-78 with one of the most successful teams in school history. The Matadors won 22 games that season and earned their first-ever berth into the NCAA Division II Tournament.

Tony Prestera (1975-78) was one of the key pieces to the team's championship success that season. According to Prestera, the Matadors made it tough on opponents on the defensive end of the floor.

"We had some really good defenders on that team," said Prestera. "If we had to, we could really shut people down. I really hope Pete remembers that team as a really solid defensive team."

Pete Cassidy — Cassidy led the Matadors
to three NCAA Division II
Tournament berths

The Matadors impressed in non-conference play that season, nearly beating Division I Iowa and enduring a benches clearing brawl at Illinois State before cruising to a 9-1 record in the CCAA to win the league. Earning the first of two CCAA Coach of the Year awards, Cassidy coached a pair of All-Americans that season in Terry Miller and Larry Singleton as the Matadors would go on to finish as NCAA West Regional runner-ups.

Cassidy led the Matadors to their second-straight CCAA title the following season and added another in 1985. Helping cement the Matadors as a Division II power over 19 years at the helm, Cassidy would lead the program into a new chapter in its history in 1990 when the team transitioned to Division I.

The transition began with four-straight seasons as an independent team until the Matadors joined the American West Conference in 1994. The humbling beginnings as a Division I program proved to be a challenge for the positive-minded coach.

"I wish we had a lot more money but that's how life goes," said Cassidy about the Division I years. "The university kept growing and growing. We didn't have a league for four years and we struggled."

A standout on some of the early Matador Division I teams was Peter Micelli (1990-95), who saw first-hand Cassidy's determination to help the program through the rough patches.

"You could always feel him fighting for us," said Micelli. "Our first year, we didn't have the funding of a Division I program. I could see the pain in him that we were going to McDonald's and we weren't staying at the best hotels. He was trying to protect us and do the best he could."

During the transition period, Cassidy still produced talent on the floor. Matador Hall of Famer and current Sierra Canyon head basketball coach, Andre Chevalier, played on the first four Division I teams while other standouts including Trenton Cross and Micelli helped jumpstart a program that would eventually make it to the NCAA Tournament by 2001.

The latter years of Cassidy's career were not short of memorable moments.

Pete Cassidy 300 wins — Cassidy after his 300th
all-time win in 1992

Cassidy earned his 300th career victory on Feb. 18, 1992 when the Matadors upset Loyola Marymount 102-95 at The Matadome.

"I remember how proud I was to help contribute to his 300th win," said Micelli. "When people said to him what a big deal it was, he would just say he's just been doing it a really long time. He had a balance of humility."

CSUN earned arguably its best Division I win to date on Feb. 27, 1993 when the Matadors beat Long Beach State on a game-winning shot from Anthony Moten. The 81-78 victory had added significance because CSUN downed a Long Beach State team that defeated No. 1 Kansas earlier that season.

While the wins were special, many of his players most remember the life lessons taught to them.

One of six Matador Hall of Famers to play for Cassidy, Jack Dyck (1972-75) was a member of Cassidy's first recruiting class. Dyck knew he needed to put in the work to succeed on Cassidy's teams.

"He expected you to work hard and he held you accountable to do that," said Dyck. "He was a very good teacher of fundamentals. He was intense and had expectations. We had a good relationship because I did the things, he expected me to do. I tried hard every day."

As the years progressed, Cassidy's core principles would not waver.

"He was a really fiery, shorter Irishman who was very much a disciplinarian," said Prestera. "Basically, here are the team rules and you follow the team rules and that's not what all players go for. They think they know better than coaches but I always felt coaches are in charge of my playing time and I think Pete understood that. I have nothing but fond memories during my time with Pete and I enjoyed playing for him."

"He would get mad if you weren't working hard or if he said the same thing twice," said Micelli. "Other than that, if you worked hard and if it was only the first mistake then it was a coachable moment. I always got along really well with him because I would just work really hard in practice. He could feel the gratitude for it."

The life lessons would carry through into the adult lives of his former players. Dyck followed in Cassidy's footsteps, eventually embarking on a coaching career in basketball and volleyball.

"I admired what a terrific job he did and what a good man he was," said Dyck. "I coached a year with Pete and I had so much fun learning drills, talking about philosophies and taking the team and looking at their strengths and weaknesses. A lot of my coaching career was based on my relationship with Pete and having him as a coach."

Micelli, who has worked in the entertainment industry since graduating from CSUN, utilizes Cassidy's teaching methods to this day.

"There are so many things he said during practice that I say to my kids and to my teams that I coach or people that I manage in the office," said Micelli. "Be quick, but don't hurry. Failing to prepare and preparing to fail. Fatigue makes cowards of us all – there's so many that I remember."

Cassidy would see many of his players go on to lead successful careers in a variety of fields, which had a lasting impression on the Hall of Famer.

"He was pretty close to a lot of his ball players and still heard from a lot of them," said Sandy Cassidy. "Those are the things that he felt made everything he did worthwhile. That was his reward seeing these young men grow up and do well."

Coaching young men from teenagers to college graduates can have a lasting impression on a person and so could a university that gave Cassidy the opportunity to teach others. According to his wife, CSUN always meant a lot to the Cassidy family.

"He loved CSUN because when he went there it was a small school," said Sandy. "I was going through old mail recently and I found the letter when they first hired him – he kept it all these years. It was our whole life. Our kids grew up in the gym."

The city of Northridge also meant a lot to Cassidy. After retiring from CSUN in 1997, he continued to remain active in the community, serving as the president and on the board of directors for the Kiwanis Club of Northridge. He also served on the board of directors of S.O.L.I.D. (Support of Law Enforcement in Devonshire).

Cassidy, who will turn 86 in June, has three children, Kevin, Michael and Erin. He also has seven grandchildren. Sandy Cassidy feels his family looks back at his career and time at CSUN with great pride and countless memories.

"I know that they're proud of him and I've always been proud of him," said Sandy. "He's a good person inside and out. He's always been very committed to helping others, which is probably why he was such a good coach – he tends to see the good in people."

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Matador Hall of Fame Spotlight: Pete Cassidy

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