When he stood on the sideline during a practice, he saw more than young men preparing for a game. He saw young men preparing for life. In his mind, it was his calling to give those young men every opportunity to prepare for their time after athletics. And there were few who enjoyed that calling of being a coach as much as Lou Saccone.
For many years, he joined George Bisacca in molding the Fairfield University basketball program. He watched; he listened; he taught. That was what made Lou Saccone the great coach that he was. That was what made Lou Saccone the legend that he is.
And so when the news came of his passing earlier this week, the lives of so many seemed to stop momentarily out of respect for the man. Players remembered him. Classmates revered him. And the University community mourned him.
Saccone was a member of George Bisacca's coaching staff and served both as a freshmen team head coach and as an assistant varsity coach. He joined the Fairfield University basketball program during the 1961-62 campaign. He wasted little time in making an impact with the program, leading the freshmen to a 17-4 mark in 1962-63 and an 18-4 record in 1963-64. He continued to nurture first-year players and prepared them for the varsity program. He also helped Coach Bisacca make the transition to a Division I program.
“Lou was my friend for most of my life,” Bisacca said. “I will miss him as the best friend I ever had. As my assistant coach, he was an integral part of any success Fairfield basketball enjoyed during our tenure together. I know of no one who contributed as much to that success as Lou. More importantly, Lou was beloved by the players for his unique personality.”
In 1966-67, Saccone served in a dual capacity by adding assistant varsity coach to his freshmen head coaching duties at Fairfield University. He would eventually leave the coaching ranks at Fairfield to accept a position as Assistant Director of Athletics prior to the 1967-68 season.
One of Connecticut's all-time top athletes, he excelled at Central High School in Bridgeport and later at the University of Bridgeport where he set and held athletic records that stood for some time. He was an accomplished athlete himself, earning 14 letters while a student at Central High School in Bridgeport. He was an unprecedented five-sport athlete at the University of Bridgeport.
He remained active in the scholastic ranks as a coach. Saccone helped launch Notre Dame High School's football program and developed the team into one of the top-rated squads in Connecticut. His 1964 Lancers won the Waskowitz Trophy, emblematic of state football supremacy.
Saccone set the mark for excellence as a student-athlete and kept that standard of excellence as a coach and as an administrator at Fairfield University and every other place he coached. He touched the lives of so many young men throughout his lifetime. It was his calling. It was his life.
“Lou Saccone is an integral part of the history of Fairfield basketball. We are saddened by his passing, and we keep his loved ones in our thoughts and prayers,” said Director of Athletics Gene Doris.
Funeral services will take place on Wednesday, September 16, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. in the Abriola Parkview Funeral Home, 419 White Plains Rd. Trumbull, CT. Interment will follow in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Trumbull. Friends may call on Tuesday, September 15 from 4-8 p.m.
