Frank Ferraro enters his fifth year as head men’s basketball coach at Waynesburg University in the 2007-08 season.
After a disappointing 12-13 record last season, Ferraro looks to recapture the success the Yellow Jackets had just two years ago when they finished 16-11 overall and advanced to the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) championship game. The 16 wins marked the highest win total for the program since the 2002-03 campaign, while the championship appearance was the first in recent years.
During his tenure as head coach at Waynesburg, Ferraro has coached three 1,000-point scorers in Marc Lodovico, Jeff Nero and Beau Wilson, all of whom graduated this past spring. Wilson finished his career with 1,452 points to rank No. 13 on the all-time scoring list in school history, while Nero and Lodovico each eclipsed the 1,000-point milestone last year and finished with 1,199 and 1,034 career points, respectively.
Ferraro faced the daunting task of replacing 34-year head coach Rudy Marisa in the 2003-04 season after being named interim head coach just months before the season started. Ferraro impressed in his first experience as a head coach at the collegiate level, winning 11 games with a team that started four freshmen. That season, the Yellow Jackets won five of their last eight games, including an opening-round victory in the conference tournament.
Prior to his first year as head coach at Waynesburg, Ferraro served as an assistant on Marisa’s coaching staff the previous two seasons. While an assistant, he helped guide the Yellow Jackets to back-to-back seasons with 15-plus victories.
In addition to working with Marisa at the college level, Ferraro helped Marisa with his local basketball camp for over two decades.
Before coming to Waynesburg, Ferraro served as head coach at high schools in the Pittsburgh area for 20-plus years. His most notable success was at Burgettstown High School from 1983-1998. He finished his time with the Blue Devils with over 200 wins, the most in school history. Ferraro coached Burgettstown to 12 WPIAL playoff appearances, five section championships and two appearances in the state playoffs. His Blue Devil teams were ranked as high as second in the WPIAL and No. 10 in the state.
Ferraro, a 1975 graduate of Duquesne University, resides in Coraopolis with his wife, Barbara. They have two grown children, Nick and Sara.
