Tuesday’s news that Air Force and hockey coach Frank Serratore have agreed to a five-year contract extension that pairs the legendary coach and the Academy through the 2022-23 season is terrific news for both parties.
The Academy keeps the man who has put Falcons hockey on the map, and as we saw this past season, kept it there in the face of daunting odds. AFA made its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance and reached the elite eight for the second year in a row and third time overall. In the process it overcame a litany of injuries and an uneven first half to surge through the Atlantic Hockey Conference tournament.
If anything, the Falcons proved they’re money when it matters most, winning an AHC title game for the seventh time in seven tries. They also knocked off the No. 1-seeded team in the NCAAs (St. Cloud State) for the first time and gave eventual champion Minnesota Duluth all it could handle in the West Regional final.
For Serratore, 60, it gives him five more years to build on his 379-335-81 career mark at the Academy, which is far and away the most victories. And make no mistake, he’s been on a heater, winning 20 or more games in each of the past three seasons – a first in the Academy’s 50 years of hockey.
It also gives him more time to add to an unparalleled library of one-timers. One of the most honest and quotable coaches to ever walk the earth, Serratore is also one of the most pleasant and considerate ones to work with. And he showed no signs of slowing down this past season.
Heading into his 22nd season, Serratore is tied for the seventh-longest tenure among Division I’s 60 hockey coaches.
Longest tenured D-I hockey coaches
Rick Gotkin, Mercyhurst, 1988-89
Bob Daniels, Ferris State, 1992-93
Don Vaughan, Colgate, 1992-93
Rand Pecknold, Quinnipiac, 1994-95
Jerry York, Boston College, 1994-95
Mich Schafer, Cornell, 1995-96
Frank Serratore, Air Force, 1997-98
Bob Gaudet, Dartmouth, 1997-98
Enrico Blasi, Miami, 1999-2000
Wayne Wilson, 1999-2000
Scott Sandelin, Minn. Duluth, 2000-01
Tom Serratore, Bemidji State, 2001-02
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