(June 23, 2003) ?C Peter A. Carlesimo, a former football player and Athletic Director at Fordham University, passed away on Sunday, June 22nd. He was 87. A Newark, New Jersey native, Carlesimo played high school football at St. Benedict??s High School in Newark. He then continued his education at Fordham, playing football under legendary head coach Jim Crowley from 1937-39. Following his graduation from Fordham in 1940, Carlesimo returned to St. Benedict??s where he taught history and coached football for two years. He then moved on to the University of Scranton where he spent 26 years as the head football coach while also coaching the basketball and cross country squads, later becoming the athletic director. Carlesimo returned to his alma mater in 1968 to become the 14th Director of Athletics in Fordham??s history, a position he would hold until 1978. At Fordham, Carlesimo was responsible for generating funds and spearheading the design of the Vincent T. Lombardi Memorial Center as well as founding the Fordham University Ram Club and the Sports Hall of Fame. He also served as the president of the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association, which conducts the National Invitational Tournament, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), the ICAAAA and the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Football Conference. After serving as the Fordham Director of Athletics for ten years, Carlesimo became the President of the National Invitational Tournament (NIT), a position he would hold until 1988. Under his guidance, the Pre-Season Tournament was started as well as an annual NIT All-Star overseas tour. A noted after-dinner speaker and toastmaster, Carlesimo was a featured member of the Sports Illustrated Speakers Bureau. Carlesimo was inducted into the Fordham Athletic Hall of Fame in 1978. Besides the Fordham Hall of Fame, Carlesimo was also inducted into the St. Benedict??s Hall of Fame, the Scranton Hall of Fame, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, the Newark Sports Hall of Fame, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Hall of Fame and the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. Included among the many awards won by Carlesimo was the Pop Warner Father of the Year Award, the Fordham University Alumni Achievement Award, the 1986 ECAC Distinguished Achievement Award, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Life Achievement and the National Association of Basketball Coaches Metropolitan Award for outstanding contributions to basketball. He leaves behind his wife, Lucy, and ten children. A wake will be held at the Moriarty Funeral Home (76 Park Street, Montclair, New Jersey) on Tuesday, June 24 & Wednesday, June 25, from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. A funeral mass will be held on Thursday morning, June 26 at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, 89 Ridge Street, Newark, NJ. In lieu of flowers, donations are being accepted to F.A.C.E.S., a charity for children with epilepsy. The address is F.A.C.E.S., 11 East 32nd Street, Basement Office, New York, NY 10016.