Rutgers Athletics Mourns Passing of Joe Boylan
Mar 21 | General, Men's Basketball
Former assistant coach and athletic director leaves legacy of success in college athletics
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers Athletics mourns the loss of Rutgers Sports Network men's basketball color analyst Joe Boylan, who passed away Sunday after suffering a stroke. Boylan, 82, was in the sixth season of his second stint calling action for the Scarlet Knights. He previously served as associate head basketball coach at RU from 1973-85 and was the Assistant Athletic Director of Academic Support Programs as well as the program's radio analyst from 1985-91.
Prior to returning to Rutgers, Boylan served as athletic director for Loyola (Md.) for 19 years, where he will be remembered for his friendly, warm personality, his ability to connect with people, and the profound way he shaped and strengthened Loyola Greyhounds athletics.
"I want to send my condolences to Coach Boylan, our beloved radio guy," head coach Steve Pikiell said. "One of the nicest people I've ever met. He traveled with us for the last five years and was the voice of Rutgers basketball. He will be really missed. He was one of the greatest people that I've been around. He was a special person. I'm really sorry for his family, he is a loss for everyone. He was a legend at Rutgers. He was a special person. I know he's in heaven, he's that kind of guy. I want to send my prayers to his family."
Boylan teamed with play-by-play announcer Jerry Recco at the start of the 2016 season to call men's basketball action. The pair called some of the most memorable games in Rutgers men's basketball history, including the team's historic season in 2019-20. The Scarlet Knights made their return to NCAA Tournament for the first time in 30 years in 2021.
"Joe was one of the nicest men I have ever met," Jerry Recco said. "It was an absolute honor to work with him for the last five years and to call him my friend. It's heartbreaking. I'll miss him dearly."
During his time at Rutgers, Boylan served from 1974-1991, first as associate head men's basketball coach and later as assistant athletic director for academic support. He was a member of Tom Young's coaching staff for the Scarlet Knights as they reached the Final Four in 1976 as one of two unbeaten teams and ultimately finished the year with a 31-2 record and ranked fourth in the NCAA. The Scarlet Knights also appeared in the 1975, 1979 and 1983 NCAA tournaments and in the NIT in 1974, 1977, 1978 and 1982.
A Baltimore native, Boylan returned to his hometown as the school's director of athletics in 1991 and served as the head of the department until his retirement in 2010.
He led the Greyhounds during a time in which eight teams earned NCAA Championships bids under coaches he hired, retained or mentored. The Greyhounds won more than 65 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships while Boylan was at the school, and he also hired the three coaches who have taken the Greyhounds men's and women's basketball teams to the NCAA Tournament.
True to his roots as a scholar-athlete and mentor to young men and women, Boylan also led the expansion of academic support for Loyola student-athletes, helping set the groundwork for a program that would assist in graduation rates which have ranked amongst the NCAA's top-25 since the inception of the association's Graduation Success Rate reports.
Boylan was raised in the Baltimore area and attended grade school at the former St. Charles Borromeo Church in Pikesville. He then graduated from Milford Mill Academy in Baltimore's suburbs where he was a multi-sport athlete before moving on to Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. There, Boylan was a men's basketball and soccer player for the Leopards.
After graduation from Lafayette in 1960, Boylan served in the United States Army from 1961-63, and he later earned a master's degree from Johns Hopkins University.
Boylan is survived by his wife, Molly, daughter, Heather, son-in-law Dave Wojcik, and his grandson, Jake.
Family and Friends will be received at St. Brendan the Navigator Parish, St. Paul's Church, 99th Street and Third Avenue, Stone Harbor, NJ 08247 on Friday March 26, 2021 from 5-8 pm. Mass will be held Saturday, March 27, 2021 at 10:30 am. Due to Covid restrictions the church is only at half capacity. The mass will be streamed live on the Radzieta Funeral Home Facebook page.
Prior to returning to Rutgers, Boylan served as athletic director for Loyola (Md.) for 19 years, where he will be remembered for his friendly, warm personality, his ability to connect with people, and the profound way he shaped and strengthened Loyola Greyhounds athletics.
"I want to send my condolences to Coach Boylan, our beloved radio guy," head coach Steve Pikiell said. "One of the nicest people I've ever met. He traveled with us for the last five years and was the voice of Rutgers basketball. He will be really missed. He was one of the greatest people that I've been around. He was a special person. I'm really sorry for his family, he is a loss for everyone. He was a legend at Rutgers. He was a special person. I know he's in heaven, he's that kind of guy. I want to send my prayers to his family."
Boylan teamed with play-by-play announcer Jerry Recco at the start of the 2016 season to call men's basketball action. The pair called some of the most memorable games in Rutgers men's basketball history, including the team's historic season in 2019-20. The Scarlet Knights made their return to NCAA Tournament for the first time in 30 years in 2021.
"Joe was one of the nicest men I have ever met," Jerry Recco said. "It was an absolute honor to work with him for the last five years and to call him my friend. It's heartbreaking. I'll miss him dearly."
During his time at Rutgers, Boylan served from 1974-1991, first as associate head men's basketball coach and later as assistant athletic director for academic support. He was a member of Tom Young's coaching staff for the Scarlet Knights as they reached the Final Four in 1976 as one of two unbeaten teams and ultimately finished the year with a 31-2 record and ranked fourth in the NCAA. The Scarlet Knights also appeared in the 1975, 1979 and 1983 NCAA tournaments and in the NIT in 1974, 1977, 1978 and 1982.
A Baltimore native, Boylan returned to his hometown as the school's director of athletics in 1991 and served as the head of the department until his retirement in 2010.
He led the Greyhounds during a time in which eight teams earned NCAA Championships bids under coaches he hired, retained or mentored. The Greyhounds won more than 65 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships while Boylan was at the school, and he also hired the three coaches who have taken the Greyhounds men's and women's basketball teams to the NCAA Tournament.
True to his roots as a scholar-athlete and mentor to young men and women, Boylan also led the expansion of academic support for Loyola student-athletes, helping set the groundwork for a program that would assist in graduation rates which have ranked amongst the NCAA's top-25 since the inception of the association's Graduation Success Rate reports.
Boylan was raised in the Baltimore area and attended grade school at the former St. Charles Borromeo Church in Pikesville. He then graduated from Milford Mill Academy in Baltimore's suburbs where he was a multi-sport athlete before moving on to Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. There, Boylan was a men's basketball and soccer player for the Leopards.
After graduation from Lafayette in 1960, Boylan served in the United States Army from 1961-63, and he later earned a master's degree from Johns Hopkins University.
Boylan is survived by his wife, Molly, daughter, Heather, son-in-law Dave Wojcik, and his grandson, Jake.
Family and Friends will be received at St. Brendan the Navigator Parish, St. Paul's Church, 99th Street and Third Avenue, Stone Harbor, NJ 08247 on Friday March 26, 2021 from 5-8 pm. Mass will be held Saturday, March 27, 2021 at 10:30 am. Due to Covid restrictions the church is only at half capacity. The mass will be streamed live on the Radzieta Funeral Home Facebook page.
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