Alum & Volunteer Coach Fred Fusaro Named to NYSPHSAA Hall of Fame

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association has announced its six member Hall of Fame Class of 2026 will include Huntington High School alum and current volunteer football coach Fred Fusaro. The induction ceremony will be held on Wednesday, July 29 at the Hyatt Regency in Buffalo.

A member of Huntington’s Class of 1961, Mr. Fusaro is among the winningest high school football coaches in New York State and among the best to have ever coached on Long Island. From 1971-2002 he built one of the greatest programs in state history while coaching varsity football at Sachem High School. There, he accumulated a 192-95 career record, won six Suffolk County Championships, 15 league titles and took his teams to 22 consecutive playoff appearances.

In addition to having dozens of players go on to play collegiately, Mr. Fusaro has had several reach the NFL including Jumbo Elliott, Chris Manno, Brian Bravy and Doug Shanahan.

Individually, Mr. Fusaro was named Suffolk County Coach of the Year 15 times with the award now named in his honor. At Sachem, the school named the football field after him in 1999 and inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2016.

In 2003, Mr. Fusaro was inducted into the Suffolk County Hall of Fame and, in 2005, he was inducted into the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame. Following his retirement from teaching and head coaching in 2002, he served as an assistant coach at John Glenn High School until 2024, then in 2025, he came full circle by joining the coaching staff at Huntington High School—his alma mater—as a line coach.

Many credit Mr. Fusaro for consistently having a disciplined approach, emphasis on character and shaping young men into leaders for all 31 years of his career. A graduate of Huntington High School he earned a bachelor’s degree from Ithaca College where he played four years as nose tackle. He earned a master’s degree from St. Lawrence University.