Hey Bruce – we didn’t forget you.
Forty years of service is a long time – and that’s exactly what Bruce Filosa did at Brooklyn College.
He served them for forty years.
And when he retired earlier this year, he did so without any fanfare – just the way he served the Bulldogs on Bedford Avenue.
Filosa retired as Brooklyn’s Director of Athletics, Recreation, and Intramurals but back 1981 it was football that brought him to the school.
“I was an assistant football coach back then,” he said. “But I also had a variety of roles at the college.
Try these – coach, professor, and administrator.
Credit Filosa for guiding Brooklyn College back to NCAA Division III membership, to a number of conference championships as well as new athletic facilities on campus.
Sheepshead Bay High School was the starting point for Filosa.
“I was an assistant football coach at the school,” he said. “Then I was offered the Defensive Backs coaching position at Brooklyn College.”
And by 1983 he was named Head Coach of the program, making him the youngest Head Football Coach in the NCAA at the time.
Eight seasons he toiled on the sidelines for the Bulldogs – and he was added the additional responsibility as Assistant Director of Recreation and Intramurals – and, get this, Head Coach of the school’s softball team.
A running back while at Brooklyn Tech High School, Filosa also served as President of the Atlantic Collegiate Football Conference.
The football phase ended in 1992 for Filosa.
“Budget cuts killed the program,” he said.
In fact, those budget cuts suspended intercollegiate athletics at the college.
Bruce Filosa’s next assignment came in 1994.
And perhaps it was his most challenging – and rewarding.
“I was charged with not only overseeing the existing recreation and intramural program,” he recalled, “but also to restart Intercollegiate Athletics, which was discontinued a couple of years earlier.”
He did it – did it well – and did it for 28 years.
Some of his accomplishments:
- Leading the program back into full NCAA Division III and City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) membership
- Building the program up to 13 intercollegiate teams
- Instrumental in the transition of operations from Roosevelt Hall to the bfand new West Quad facilities beginning in 2010
- Completion of the new BC Field in 2012
- The creation of five additional full-time athletic administration positions for the department
- Establishing an annual Athletic Awards Banquet
- Served as President of the CUNYAC
- Served as a member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Men’s Soccer Championship Committee
- Served on the CUNYAC Ethics and Standards, and Constitution Committees
- Led the effort of starting a competitive cheerleading team that would go on to win 10 CUNYAC Championships in 12 years
- Starting the first Women’s Soccer program at Brooklyn College in 2012
- CUNYAC Women’s and Men’s Cross-Country Championships in 200
- CUNYAC Men’s Basketball Championships and NCAA Division III Tournament appearances in 2018, 2020 and 2022
- Women’s Basketball NCAA Tournament victory in 2022
- CUNY Women’s Volleyball Championship and NCAA Division III Tournament appearance in 2021
- ECAC Women’s Basketball Championships in 2015 and 2016
His colleagues remember:
“Bruce Filosa has left an incredible mark on Brooklyn College given his passion and dedication to the Athletic Department and all the student athletes. He has established a blueprint for success that is known not only at Brooklyn College, but throughout CUNY. I wish him all the best in his much-deserved retirement.” – Ron Jackson, Brooklyn College Vice President of Student Affairs
“I have known Bruce Filosa since I started at Brooklyn College in September, 2000. Bruce was always committed to Brooklyn College and our amazing students. I was privileged to supervise Bruce for a few years during this time. He always put our students first and was in connect with our student athletes even when we were in fully remote. I wish Bruce and his family the best.” – Alan Gilbert, Brooklyn College Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration.
Bruce – we didn’t forget you. Now what we need is seeing your name on the Bruce Filosa Basketball Court at the school.
Andy Furman is a Fox Sports Radio national talk show host. Previously, he was a scholastic sports columnist for the Brooklyn Eagle. He may be reached at: [email protected] Twitter: @AndyFurmanFSR
