As a senior at JHS, Jack Siedlecki was captain of the football, basketball and baseball teams and was selected as Athlete of the Year. A 1974 graduate of Union College with a B.A. in history, he started on the varsity football team there for three seasons and earned letters playing running back and linebacker.

During the early 1970’s he coached and played for the semi-pro Glove Cities Colonials before taking a job with Ross Perot’s Electronic Data Systems in NYC and Dallas. In 1976 he began a coaching career in college football as an assistant at the University of Albany, moving on to Wagner College in 1980 and then to Lafayette College in 1981. In 1988 he was appointed head coach at Division III Worcester Polytechnic Institute and, under his guidance, the program amassed a 36-11-1 record in five years. From 1993 to 1996 Siedlecki was head coach at Division III Amherst College, compiling a 20-11-1 record. He was named the American Football Coaches Association District I Coach of the Year in 1992 and 1996.

On December 19, 1996, Jack Siedlecki was named head football coach at Yale University. In 10 seasons there, he has compiled a 55-44 record, guiding the Bulldogs to Ivy League championships in 1999 and 2006. He was named the New England Sports Writers Coach of the Year in 1999 and was at the helm in 2000 when Yale became the first college team in the country to win 800 games. The game football, with his name on it, is in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Never forgetting his roots, Siedlecki returns often to Johnstown, donating his time to promote teamwork, responsibility, commitment and community.



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