Jay Civetti

Jay P. Civetti Jr. (born May 11, 1979) is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Tufts University, a position he has held since the 2011 season. During his time at Tufts, Civetti helped end the school's 31-game losing streak, and he later led the team to three consecutive winning seasons.

Jay Civetti
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamTufts
ConferenceNESCAC
Record48–51
Biographical details
Born (1979-05-11) May 11, 1979
Playing career
1997–2000Trinity (CT)
Position(s)Offensive lineman
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2001–2002Milton HS (MA) (assistant)
2003–2006Boston College (assistant)
2007NC State (WR)
2008–2010Tufts (OC)
2011–presentTufts
Head coaching record
Overall48–51

Pre-Tufts career

Civetti attended Belmont Hill School in Belmont, Massachusetts.[1] Having been recruited by coach Don Miller, Civetti played college football as an offensive lineman at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut from 1997 to 2000.[2] Civetti started all 32 games that Trinity played during his time there.[3] During his first season with the Bantams, Civetti was the ECAC Rookie of the Year.[4] During his senior season, he served as Trinity's co-captain and earned First Team All-NESCAC honors.[5][6]

After graduating from Trinity with an English degree in 2001, Civetti briefly pursued a career in information technology consulting.[2][7] In less than a year, however, Civetti left the IT firm and accepted a job coaching football and teaching special education at Milton High School in Milton, Massachusetts.[2][8]

In 2003, Civetti joined the staff of Boston College football coach Tom O'Brien as a graduate assistant.[2] Between 2003 and 2006, Civetti served as an assistant under O'Brien and earned a master's degree in education from the school in 2006.[2][9] While at Boston College, Civetti helped coach quarterback Matt Ryan, a future NFL Most Valuable Player.[10][11] Civetti followed O'Brien to North Carolina State University in 2007, where he served as a wide receivers coach for the team.[2]

Tufts career

Civetti joined the Tufts football program in 2008 as offensive coordinator and tight ends coach.[4]

In 2009 – after the conclusion of Tufts' season – Civetti returned to NC State to serve as the temporary offensive coordinator following Dana Bible's diagnosis of leukemia.[12] During Civetti's sole game at the helm of the offense, NC State beat its biggest rival, the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, 28–27.[13] Three members of the 2009 Wolfpack team went on to play in the NFL: tight end T. J. Graham, offensive lineman Ted Larsen, and Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson.[14]

Civetti was promoted to interim Tufts head coach in January 2011, replacing longtime head coach Bill Samko.[2][9][15] On October 28, 2011, Civetti shed the interim label.[16] The Jumbos went 0–8 in each of his first three seasons as head coach.[17]

On September 20, 2014, in its season opener, Tufts beat the Hamilton Continentals, 24–17, to break its 31-game losing stream (dating back to September 2010) and record Civetti's first win as head coach.[18][19][20] "That's what this program does: it fights regardless," Civetti told the team in an impassioned postgame speech. "We've seen things, been places, and done things that not the average man can handle. You are uncommon. You are special. You are unique. You are Jumbo Pride."[21] The team finished the year at 4–4, including an undefeated record at home.[22]

On October 24, 2015, Tufts beat the Williams Ephs in an away game for the first time since 1981.[23] After the game, a video of Civetti dancing and celebrating in the locker room – capped by the Tufts coach doing the splits – briefly went viral.[24][25] The Jumbos also defeated the Middlebury Panthers, 31–28, for the first time since 2001.[26]

On October 29, 2016, Tufts beat the Amherst Purple and White for the first time since 2007 in a 27–10 victory.[27] That year, Civetti coached the Jumbos to a second-place finish in the NESCAC with a 7–1 record, finishing with the program's best regular season showing since 1998.[28][29] Under Civetti's tutelage, senior tri-captain running back Shayne "Chance" Brady was named the NESCAC Offensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, while first-year linebacker Greg Holt was named the NESCAC Rookie of the Year.[30] Four other players were also named to the All-NESCAC first team, including senior kicker/punter Willie Holmquist, who later joined the Duke Blue Devils as a graduate walk-on.[30][31] On account of these successes, the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston named Civetti the 2016 Division III Coach of the Year.[32]

While at Tufts, Civetti has worked with Team IMPACT to help provide support for children suffering from potentially terminal illnesses.[33][34][35]

Head coaching record
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Tufts Jumbos (New England Small College Athletic Conference) (2011–present)
2011 Tufts 0–80–810th
2012 Tufts 0–80–810th
2013 Tufts 0–80–8T–9th
2014 Tufts 4–44–4T–5th
2015 Tufts 6–26–23rd
2016 Tufts 7–17–12nd
2017 Tufts 5–45–46th
2018 Tufts 7–27–23rd
2019 Tufts 4–54–5T–5th
2020–21 No team
2021 Tufts 4–54–5T–5th
2022 Tufts 6–36–3T–3rd
2023 Tufts 5–15–1
Tufts: 48–5148–51
Total:47–51

References
  1. Wong, Doris (2011-01-10). "Civetti to coach Tufts football". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  2. Samuels, Eddie (2016-11-17). "From the Sidelines: Jay Civetti". The Tufts Daily. Archived from the original on 2018-01-14.
  3. Larson, Craig (2016-10-12). "Tufts takes its shot at tripping up Trinity". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  4. Pave, Marvin (2008-07-17). "Civetti joins Tufts staff". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2017-10-18.
  5. "2000 Football Numerical Roster". Trinity College Athletic Department. Archived from the original on 2017-10-15.
  6. "2000 NESCAC Football All-Conference Teams Announced". NESCAC. 2000-11-28. Archived from the original on 2018-01-14.
  7. "Classes of 2000-2009". Trinity College. Archived from the original on 2018-01-14.
  8. Pave, Marvin (2011-01-09). "Mount Ida coach's son helps team to victory". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  9. "Head Coach Jay Civetti". Tufts University Athletics. Archived from the original on 2018-01-14.
  10. Horton, C. Jemal (2006-12-31). "With broken foot, Ryan able to toe the line". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2018-02-09.
  11. Brinson, Will (2017-02-05). "2017 NFL Honors: Falcons' Matt Ryan beats out Tom Brady for 2016 NFL MVP". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  12. Dinich, Heather (2009-11-23). "Bible diagnosed with cancer". ESPN. Archived from the original on 2018-01-14.
  13. Associated Press (2009-11-28). "NC State's Wilson tosses 4 TDs as blocked field goal downs UNC". ESPN. Archived from the original on 2018-01-14.
  14. "2009 North Carolina State Wolfpack Roster". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2017-10-18.
  15. Larson, Craig (2010-12-14). "Samko steps down at Tufts". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  16. Vega, Michael (2013-10-18). "Tufts football out to snap 27-game losing streak". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  17. "Tufts University Football Program Records". Tufts University Athletics. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  18. Glavin, Wil (2014-09-22). "For Tufts football, the streak is over". The Tufts Daily. Archived from the original on 2018-07-19.
  19. "Tufts defeats Hamilton to end 31-game losing streak". The Boston Globe. 2014-09-21. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  20. Schwedelson, Paul (2014-09-30). "Tufts football relishes in back-to-back wins after futile drought". The Daily Orange. Archived from the original on 2018-07-19.
  21. "Tufts Football 24, Hamilton 17 Post-Game / Locker Room Celebration". YouTube. 2014-09-20.
  22. Glavin, Wil (2014-11-11). "Tufts football team's exciting season comes to end". The Tufts Daily. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  23. Goldberg, Phillip (2015-10-26). "Tufts wins at Williams for first time since 1981". The Tufts Daily. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  24. "Watch this D-III head coach get his groove on during a post-game celebration". Fanbuzz. 2015-10-27. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  25. Dimengo, Nick (2015-11-20). "12 Hilarious Times Coaches Danced". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  26. Goldberg, Phillip (2015-11-15). "Jumbos cement best season since 2001 with win over Middlebury". The Tufts Daily. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  27. Samuels, Eddie (2016-11-01). "Tufts rolls over Amherst for first time since 2007". The Tufts Daily. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  28. Samuels, Eddie (2016-12-05). "Football continues to climb in NESCAC, posts best record since '98". The Tufts Daily. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  29. Sweeney, Paul (2016-11-17). "One for the Record Books". Tufts Now. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  30. "Football All-Conference Teams Released". NESCAC. 2016-11-22. Archived from the original on 2018-02-09.
  31. Wiseman, Steve (2017-12-26). "How William Holmquist, born almost deaf, stepped in to help Duke win a bowl game". The News & Observer. Archived from the original on 2018-01-14.
  32. "Bob Whelan College Awards Dinner". Gridiron Club of Greater Boston. 2016-12-15. Archived from the original on 2017-10-17.
  33. Prewitt, Alex (2012-05-03). "Pats Ninkovich helps ailing boy, 8". ESPN. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  34. Leibowitz, Aaron (2012-09-12). "Civetti looking to build a winner, one day, one practice at a time". The Tufts Daily. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  35. "Football Drafts Team IMPACT Teammate Zack Cummings at Gillette Stadium Special Event". Tufts University Athletics. 2017-09-06. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
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