.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University Athletics
Steven P. Tosches Announces Resignation
November 23, 1999 | Football
Nov. 23, 1999
PRINCETON, N.J. - Princeton University head football coach Steven P. Tosches announced his resignation today. Tosches spent 15 seasons with the Tigers, the past 13 as the head coach. His record at Princeton was 78-50-2, including an Ivy League record of 51-39-1.
Princeton completed the 1999 season with a 3-7 overall record and a 1-6 mark in the Ivy League.
Tosches guided Princeton to Ivy League championships in 1989, 1992 and 1995. The 1989 title was Princeton's first in 20 years, and the 1995 championship was the Tigers' first outright title in 31 years.
Tosches' 78 victories are the second most at Princeton (Bill Roper, 89 wins), and his 51 Ivy victories rank sixth in league history.
The search for a replacement will be begin immediately, but a timetable has not been established for naming a successor.
Tosches' three Ivy League championships ties him with Dick Colman for the most league titles by a Princeton coach. Under Tosches the Tigers won the most games in a five-year span (39 wins from 1991-95) and had five straight seasons of at least seven wins for the first time at Princeton in the modern era. Since 1987 Princeton ranks first among Ivy schools in overall victories (78). The 1995 season was his best, as Tosches led the Tigers to an 8-1-1 record and their first outright Ivy championship in 31 years. After back-to-back 6-4 seasons his first two years, Tosches' breakthrough year came in 1989, when Princeton went 7-2-1 and won Princeton's first Ivy League championship in 20 years.
A 3-7 record in 1990 proved to be a brief setback, as Princeton then put together three straight 8-2 seasons, including a share of the 1992 league title. After the 1992 season Tosches served as head coach of the Ivy League senior all-star team that posted a 68-3 win against a team of Japanese college all-stars in the Epson Ivy Bowl. Following the 1989 Ivy championship season, Tosches was honored as the Division I-AA Eastern football coach of the year.
Tosches has coached four first-team All-Americas - defensive back Dean Cain (1987), placekicker Chris Lutz (1988), running back Judd Garrett (1989) and running back Keith Elias (1992 and 1993) - and three academic All-Americas, placekicker Alex Sierk (1998), running back Marc Washington (1996) and defensive tackle Steve Hillegeist (1989). He has also coached four winners of the Bushnell Cup as the Ivy League Player of the Year (Jason Garrett in 1988, Judd Garrett in 1989, Keith Elias in 1993 and Dave Patterson in 1995).
Tosches, who became Princeton's head coach just prior to the 1987 season after Ron Rogerson passed away, was an All-Yankee Conference and All-East quarterback at the University of Rhode Island. After graduating in 1979 he was signed to a free-agent contract by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. He was named to the University of Rhode Island Hall of Fame in 1996.
Tosches returned to his alma mater for the 1980 season, serving as the Rams' offensive backfield coach. He then joined Rogerson's staff at the University of Maine as the Black Bears' offensive coordinator and backfield coach. When Rogerson accepted the head coaching position at Princeton in 1985, he named Tosches offensive coordinator.
Steve Tosches: Year-by-Year
Year Overall Ivy Finish 1987 6-4 4-3 fourth (tied) 1988 6-4 4-3 third (tied) 1989 7-2-1 6-1 first (co-champion) 1990 3-7 2-5 sixth (tied) 1991 8-2 5-2 second 1992 8-2 6-1 first (co-champion) 1993 8-2 5-2 third 1994 7-3 4-3 second (tied) 1995 8-1-1 5-1-1 first (champion) 1996 3-7 2-5 sixth (tied) 1997 6-4 3-4 fourth (tied) 1998 5-5 4-3 fourth 1999 3-7 1-6 seventh (tied) Totals 78-50-2 51-39-1 3 Ivy League titles