Tony Vittorio Position: Head Coach Alma Mater: Hanover (IN) '88

University of Dayton head coach Tony Vittorio has solidified himself as one of the baseball program's greatest managers since he took over beginning with the 2000 season.

Vittorio was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year after guiding the school to its first-ever Atlantic 10 regular season championship in 2009. Vittorio's squad broke a number of long-standing UD records, including wins (38), batting average (.332), hits (665), at-bats (2,005), runs scored (448), home runs (77) and strikeouts (370). He also surpassed the 500 career win mark, capturing the milestone in a 5-3 come-from-behind win in the Bronx against Fordham on April 24, 2009.

He has guided the program to five Atlantic 10 Championship appearances and is the only coach in program history to advance to the A-10 Tournament.

However, Vittorio (511-465, 287-267 at UD) would give many reasons why those numbers represent a starting point rather than a destination for a program that had only one winning season in the decade prior to his arrival.

With Vittorio and his staff's mentorship, UD has seen five of its own selected in the MLB draft with two of them (Jerry Blevins and Craig Stammen) seeing playing time in the big leagues.

In his first year at Dayton, Vittorio guided the Flyers to a 23-32 season with a 10-11 record in conference play, paving the way for the record breaking 2001 campaign, and gave promise to a program that had eclipsed the .500 mark just one time during the 1990s.

But as bright as the future appears for Vittorio's Flyers, his past still stands at the top of UD's record books. In 2002, UD shattered record after record, boasting school-highs in strikeouts (332) while winning 32 games, as well as an April 16 win over IPFW that gave Vittorio his 300th career victory. His ability to mold professional-caliber players was also validated during the year, with four members of the '02 squad going on to play some type of professional ball. The quartet of players moving on to the next level brought his total to five players in three years.

A year earlier, Vittorio guided Dayton to its first winning season in three years, setting a then-single-season school record for victories with 32, while leading Dayton to its first berth in post-season play since joining the A-10 in 1996.

Vittorio's team set a former program record 596 hits in 2005 while ranking second in runs scored (397) and at bats (1,932), third in batting average (.308) and RBI (358). The 2005 Flyers also had a solid pitching staff with 314 strkeouts (third most in school history) and a 4.41 team ERA (fifth best).

UD also won two of three games against #19 Notre Dame on Feb. 26 & 27 in Mesa, Ariz. at HoHoKam Park, the Spring Training home of the Chicago Cubs. It marked the highest ranked team ever defeated by the Flyers in school history.

In 2006, Vittorio took the Flyers to the Atlantic 10 Championships for the second consecutive season and won 33 games including a program best 18 in Atlantic 10 Conference play to finish third in the 14-team A-10. Not only did the UD pitching staff record a then school-record 343 strikeouts, but the offense used its speed to record the third most doubles (115), fourth most stolen bases (75) and fifth most triples (18) in program history. He also saw a Flyer (Craig Stammen) selected for the third time in three seasons in the MLB Draft.

This transformation of Dayton's program has come as no surprise. From the start of his 20-year coaching career as an assistant at Indiana University, Vittorio has been a builder. His first reconstruction was at Lincoln Trail Community College, a junior college in Robinson, Ill. Taking over a program that suffered through a 2-48 season before he arrived, Vittorio guided LTC to 144 wins from 1990 through 1994, including a 45-28 record his final year. While coaching the Statesmen, he mentored two MLB draftees and saw 22 players advance to four-year college teams. He then spent two years as an assistant coach at the University of Kentucky before beginning the revival of Division II IPFW, a team that was 9-41 before he arrived in the fall of 1996.

Vittorio engineered his rebuilding process again and posted a 24-23 mark his first season and an impressive 30-17 record in 1998. Vittorio's Mastodons won 80 games in his three years in Fort Wayne, bringing his then seven-year career head coaching record to 224-198. In 2000, coach Vittorio made the move to UD, bringing with him head assistant Todd Linklater.

The ball field is not the only place that Vittorio expects his players to excel. Each year the team volunteer's their time at the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon and raising money for Jerry's Kids, as well as participating in the Real Men Where Pink campaign for breast cancer awareness and each member of the team visits Children's Hospital and is involved in Christmas on Campus.He is also involved with the Building Bridges baseball clinic which helps at-risk youth between the ages ofnine and 18 build character and self-esteem.

A native of Indianapolis, Vittorio graduated from Hanover (IN) College in 1988 with a double major in both business administration and physical education. He went on to earn his master's degree in sports management from the University of Kentucky in 1997. At Hanover, Vittorio was a four-year letterwinner as a middle infielder and was selected into the American College Hall of Fame at the conclusion of his collegiate career.

Vittorio resides in Kettering with his wife Heather and their daughter Taylor Reann and son Nic.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT FLYER HEAD COACH TONY VITTORIO

"While I was at Notre Dame, I had the privilege of coaching against the University of Dayton and Coach Tony Vittorio. What I realized in that competition was how well coached the Flyers were on the field. They competed hard but also did it the right way. Their players displayed a passion for the game, played fundamentally sound, and did it with class. I have a lot of respect for the program at Dayton and attribute the way things are done to their coach, Tony Vittorio. In my opinion, he is one of the very finest coaches in college baseball. In addition, having had the opportunity to get to know Tony away from the field, he has impressed me with the quality of person he really is. He cares deeply about his players, as well as the institution he represents. He is very straightforward and honest. What you see is what you get with him. As a parent, I can say that Tony is the type of coach and person for whom I would want my son to play."

- Paul Mainieri
Head Baseball Coach
Louisiana State University

"Passion, competitiveness, loyalty and knowledge all are words that partially describe Tony Vittorio as a baseball coach. It has been an honor to call Tony friend, co-worker and opponent. I have great respect for this man as a coach and a friend."

- Keith Madison
Retired University of Kentucky Baseball Head Coach
ABCA Hall of Fame Member
SCORE International
National Baseball Director

I was once told that "success'' is when preparation meets opportunity. This is certainly true in the case of Tony Vittorio. A recruit from Southport High School in Indianapolis, Indiana Coach Vittorio found his way to Hanover College. He graduated in 1988 leaving behind a great baseball career as every team needs a player with the attributes of Tony Vittorio. Tony was enthusiastic, loyal, a leader, team player, responsible, and very coachable as well as possessing a great passion for the game of baseball.

Tony has carried all of the aforementioned attributes into his professional life. He is a great family man and a dedicated servant to the development of the youth under his tutelage. Coach Vittorio has made all the correct decisions throughout his professional career. Every stop along the way he has made an impact on players, colleagues, associates, and administrators.

Four short years has in turned into a lifelong obsession for me as I am thrilled to observe Tony from a distance and honored with his many achievements. After retiring from Hanover College after thirty-seven years as their baseball coach I often wonder what those four years meant to me as a coach. I am extremely proud of the fact that I have been a mentor in the life of Tony Vittorio.

-Dr. Dick Naylor
Retired Hanover Baseball Coach
ABCA Hall of Fame Member
NAIA Hall of Fame Member

Tony Vittorio's Career Record