Headed Into Retirement
John Giannini, one of the great people in local sports, has retired as director of athletics at Rowan University. The 61-year-old Giannini had been the AD for the past five years.
He was named interim director of athletics in June of 2019 and then took over as director of athletics in 2020, overseeing 18 varsity sports at Rowan.
During his tenure, Rowan’s team captured 26 New Jersey Athletic Conference team championships while various teams made 19 appearances in the NCAA championships.
Rowan has long been considered among the top Division III sports programs in the country.
Giannini, who has been a long-time South Jersey resident and before getting into administration, he made his mark as a men’s basketball coach.
He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Illinois from 1987-89. The 1989 team advanced to the NCAA Final Four.
Giannini then got his first coaching job at Rowan. He compiled a 168-38 record (.814) in seven seasons as head coach, which included five NCAA Tournament appearances and three Final Four berths. The 1995-96 team captured the Division III national title during a 28-4 season.
He then took the job at Division I Maine, where in eight seasons his team made five trips the America East Conference semifinals or championships. Two of his final three seasons he guided the team to the conference championship and his .530 winning percentage is the highest in school history. His record at Maine was 125-111.
Giannini then returned to the area as the head coach at LaSalle, a position he held for 14 years.
His 2011-12 team earned a berth in the NIT and that set the table for his best season the next year.
In 2012-2013, La Salle was one of the feel-good stories of college basketball. The Explorers went 24-10.
The Explorers earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament, their first in 21 years. They had to first play in the First Four in Dayton, beating Boise State, 80-71. La Salle then upset Kansas State, 63-61 in the Round of 64 and Ole Miss, 76-74 in the Round of 32 to advance to the Sweet 16. It was LaSalle’s deepest run in the tournament since 1955.
During the Sweet 16 which was played in Los Angeles, La Salles season ended with a 72-58 loss to Wichita State. Ramon Galloway, Tyreek Duren and Tyrone Garland. All three played their high school basketball in Philadelphia and during that run, LaSalle was not only a big local story, but a national one as well.
Giannini would coach at LaSalle through the 2017-18 season, and then he finished his career at Rowan.
While he is retiring as an AD, Giannini will remain involved in athletics. For several years he has served as a color commentator for college basketball games and he is as adept at that as he was as a coach.
Photo of John Giannini / Courtesy of Rowan University
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Author: Marc Narducci
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