Vince Chickerella, a former men's basketball coach at Capital University and several Ohio high schools, will be inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in May 2014. As a coach, Chickerella achieved great success, including multiple state championships in high school basketball and conference titles at Capital University. He established a legacy and tradition of excellence at Capital that continues today. Chickerella is considered one of the greatest coaches in Ohio basketball history and his induction is a well-deserved honor.

1. Chickerella to Be Enshrined into Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame
Jeremy Morgan, Assistant Sports Information Director
Former Capital men's basketball coach Vince Chickerella
(pictured in 1976) will one of 15 inductees into the Ohio
Basketball Hall of Fame this May.
His achievements as a head coach across high school and collegiate basketball are only matched by the
greatness of his legacy in Central Ohio.
From state championships in Ohio high school basketball, to multiple Ohio Athletic Conference titles,
former Capital University head men’s basketball coach Vince Chickerella will soon tack on yet another
honor to his esteemed coaching legacy.
On May 17, 2014, Chickerella will join 14 other individuals and two teams as the Class of 2014 is inducted
into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame.
“He was a tremendous coach in both college and high school,” said Capital’s head men’s basketball coach
Damon Goodwin. “This honor for Coach Chickerella is well deserved.”
Prior to his passing in 2011, Chickerella set a standard for success in Central Ohio basketball, one which
the current Capital men’s basketball team still tries to emulate.
“Coach Chickerella is a cornerstone of our basketball program,” Goodwin said. “Every game that our
program plays, we try to live up to the legacy that he helped create during his tenure at Capital.”
Dave Cecutti, a former player of Chickerella’s (1974-77) and three-year head coach of Crusaders men’s
basketball (1986-89), affirmed Goodwin’s comment of the tradition of Capital men’s basketball being
shaped during that era.
“He set a high standard for the Crusader basketball program during his tenure,” Cecutti said. “I’ve always
felt that all the coaches who followed him at Capital strived for that excellence as part of the program’s
tradition.”
Throughout his coaching tenure in the high school ranks, Chickerella, a Martins Ferry native, made stops
at three Central Ohio high schools, including Linden McKinley (1956-68), St. Francis Desales (1984-87)
and Hilliard (1988-91).

2. He won a combined 299 games during his high school coaching career, including 10 sectional
championships, six district titles, two regional titles and two state championships.
Furthermore, Chickerella managed to win no less than 47 total games at each coaching stint throughout
his 18 year high school coaching career.
One player noted that Chickerella’s coaching success was often referred to as, “The Chick Way.”
“He was a fierce competitor and at times that was misinterpreted of how much he loved the game of
basketball and his desire to be successful,” Cecutti said.
Coming into his first year in the collegiate ranks in 1968, Chickerella already had an impressive résumé,
which carried over quite nicely in his 10-years at the helm of the Capital men’s basketball program.
His first year proved to match his winning ways, as Chickerella took a team which had won just six games
overall and three in conference games the previous season, and tallied a 14-9 record while also tripling the
Crusaders’ OAC wins total.
The next four years ended up being one of the greatest runs in Capital men’s basketball history, as
Chickerella recorded four-straight 20-win seasons, spanning from 1969-73.
He also recorded the only undefeated OAC regular season in program history (1969-70), while tallying
two OAC regular season titles (1969-70, 1972-73) and one OAC Tournament championship (1971).
“Coach Chickerella set a standard for excellence in (Capital) men's basketball that has been maintained
over the years by many who have participated in the basketball program,” said Scott Weakley (1969-72), a
former Capital player for Chickerella.
Mark Humrichouser (1969-72), a teammate of Weakley’s during that historic four-year run, credits a great
deal of Chickerella’s success to his establishment of a “winning foundation.”
“What he started back then was establishing the reputation that Capital was a winner,” Humrichouser
said. “That winning reputation continues even today.”
Perhaps even more impressive was that Chickerella’s four-year span of 20 or more wins was at a time
when the OAC included power programs such as Ohio Wesleyan, The College of Wooster and Wittenberg.
“He revived the program in the 1970s to an OAC power with great players, intense coaching and a
commitment towards Capital University,” Goodwin said.
Moreover, this too contributes to Chickerella’s legacy as the winningest coach in Capital history, as he
posted a .710 win percentage as the Crusaders men’s basketball coach, good for ninth all-time in the OAC.
A portion of his success can be traced through two specific tournament appearances during the 1969 and
1972 seasons.
In 1969, the Crusaders traveled to the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire for a holiday tournament
which featured Capital, Kentucky State University, Western Illinois University and Wisconsin at Eau
Claire.
“The tournament was strategically planned to be a rematch of the Division 1 NAIA National
Championship of the previous year,” Humrichouser said.

3. Capital faced Kentucky State on day one, a team coming off their third straight Division I NAIA National
Championship, defeating the Thorobreds and then following that victory up with a win over Wisonsin at
Eau Claire the following night.
Chickerella and his squad had then defeated the national champion and runner-up from the previous
season’s Division I NAIA National Championship game.
“Winning the EauClaire Classic my senior year, defeating the No. 1 and No. 2 NAIA teams in the country
was one of the best memories I have of playing for Coach Chickerella,” Weakley said. “With the win over
(Wisonsin) Eau Claire, we ended their 39 game home winning streak.”
Another feat accomplished by Chickerella was taking his team to two NCAA Regional games throughout
his tenure at Capital, just one more accomplishment to add to his esteemed coaching legacy.
“Our freshman and senior years, when there were only two divisions in college basketball and limited
invitations on top of that, we went to Central Michigan University for the NCAA Tournament and then our
senior year we went to University of Evansville.” Humrichouser said. “Those were such great memories.”
Dozens of memories are remembered to this day by former players, but one that is particularly special
involves cross-town rival Otterbein.
Cecutti mentioned that one particular game always sticks in his mind as the Capital faced Otterbein in
front of a sellout crowd, leading them by 11 points with less than three minutes remaining, until the
Cardinals cut their deficit to just one point with a minute left in regulation.
“Coach Chickerella called a very vocal timeout,” Cecutti said. “As we got in the huddle I knew, along with
my teammates, we were in for a typical ‘Chick’ tirade. To our dismay he looked us all in the eye and said,
‘Isn't this great? This is what it’s all about. You guys will remember this game for the rest of your lives.’ He
was right. We won the game and that memory lives on.”
Chickerella’s character as both a coach and person is certainly something to be noted, as he combined an
old school mentality of discipline and hard work, in turn creating winning culture wherever he coached.
“He was an expert tactician and he demanded teamwork on both ends of the floor,” Humrichouser said.
“If you were loyal to him, he was loyal to you, something he proved to me through the years.”
Another player noted that it was a privilege to be a part of Chickerella’s success at the collegeiate level.
“I feel privileged to be a small link in the chain of his success,” Weakley said. “I always have been and will
continue to be deeply indebted to Coach Chickerella's impact upon my life.”
So with the induction of Vince Chickerella into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame on the horizon, his
coaching legacy is one that will be both honored and remembered by current and former coaches and
players who had the chance to be a part of his success on the court.
“His induction means I was fortunate to play for one of the best,” Humrichouser said. “As one of his
players I am elated for him and his family. It would mean everything to him if he were alive today.”