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| St. John Fisher athletics photo |
After more than three decades at the helm, St. John Fisher head football coach Paul Vosburgh announced his retirement on Tuesday.
Vosburgh, who this past season was the second-longest active tenured head coach in Division III, went 181-155 in charge of the Cardinals and 192-173-1 overall. He departs St. John Fisher as the winningest coach in program history and – more importantly – immensely proud of the impact he has had on countless young men.
The longest tenured coach, Norm Eash at Illinois Wesleyan, announced his retirement earlier this month.
“I am most proud of our players and the great people they have turned out to be,” Vosburgh said. “It has always been about them. They weren’t just football players. They have become good citizens, good parents, and they have done well for themselves in their careers. To see that they came through our program and have excelled beyond our program – that is what I am most proud of after all of these years.”
Vosburgh arrived in Pittsford in 1991 as the seventh head coach in Fisher history, but the first to helm a varsity-level program. It took some years to build, but in time, Vosburgh’s vision and leadership molded the Cardinals into a consistent Division III program.
Over 34 years, Vosburgh won six Empire 8 conference titles and led the Cardinals to the Division III NCAA playoffs in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2011, and 2013. The Cardinals had the best season in program history in 2006, as they went 12-2 overall, won the NCAA Division III East Region, and advanced to the national semifinals. Fisher also won six Eastern College Athletic Conference bowl games under Vosburgh’s leadership.
Vosburgh is a two-time Empire 8 Coach of the Year and won National Coach of the Year in 2006. The Cardinals won 10 games or more in five seasons with him at the helm, and won 129 games from 2003-2019, about eight wins per season.
Two of Vosburgh’s teams (2006 and 2013) won the Lambert Meadowlands Award, presented annually to the top Division III team in the East region.
Originally from Lockport, New York, Vosburgh graduated from DeSales Catholic School in 1971. A three-time all-league linebacker at DeSales, he played collegiately at William Penn University (Iowa). He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Pittsburg State in Kansas before returning to DeSales Catholic in 1978 to become the school's athletic director and head football coach.
Vosburgh went from one alma mater to another in 1983, joining the William Penn coaching staff as defensive coordinator. He became head coach of that program in 1985 and spent three seasons there before taking charge of the Cardinals.
Vosburgh was inducted into the DeSales Catholic School Hall of Fame as part of its 2024 class in October.