Lamar University Athletics

A highly decorated coaching veteran, with three decades of coaching experience, Pete Rossomando was named Lamar University head coach in December 2022. Rossomando became the program’s 11^th head coach since LU transitioned into a four-year program (in 1951) and just the fourth leader since returning the sport to varsity status for the 2010 season.
 
Among his 31 years of experience on the sideline, 12 of those have been as a head coach, and none may be more impressive than his first two seasons in the Golden Triangle. When Rossomando arrived in Beaumont prior to the 2024 season, he took over a team that was coming off a one-win campaign, had won only five games in the three previous years combined and was picked at the bottom of the Southland Conference preseason polls. Rossomando proved all of the prognosticators wrong as the Cardinals jumped out to their best start in conference play since 1967 and orchestrated the nation’s fourth-largest single-season turnaround (at the NCAA FCS level). Lamar recorded its first winning season since 2018 and just the third since the sport was brought back to varsity status in 2010. The Cardinals also began receiving votes in the Top 25 poll.

For his efforts, Rossomando was named a finalist for the coveted Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, which is the second time in his career his name has appeared on the ballot.

For an encore, Rossomando only etched his name even more into the LU history books by improving the Cardinals win total for a second consecutive season (seven wins) which marked the first time since 1966 and 1967 seasons that Big Red has recorded back-to-back winning seasons. The 2024 campaign also marked the first time LU had recorded back-to-back winnings seasons in conference play since the 1971 and 1972 seasons. Lamar also defeated No. 20 Weber State early in the season - the program's first win over a nationally ranked program since 2019 - which would help land the Cardinals in the STATS FCS Top 25 poll for the first time in program history - an honor they held for four weeks.

Rossomando's players have also reaped the benefit of his coaching. In his first season, Rossomando produced seven All-Southland Conference selections including one first-team honoree. Big Red’s seven selections equaled the total number of all-conference honors for LU since 2019 combined. Return specialist, Damashja Harris, was also named to the Dave Campbell’s All-Texas Team for non-FBS schools. Rossomando’s charges also got the job done in the classroom with three players named to the Academic All-SLC squad.

During his two seasons at LU, Rossomando has produced 15 All-Southland Conference selections - including one first-team nod, two Freshman All-Americans and six Academic All-Southland Conference selections. 

Rossomando came to the Golden Triangle from Charlotte where he spent the last two seasons as offensive line coach and took on the added title of interim head coach for the final four games of 2022. Prior to Rossomando being named interim head coach, the 49ers posted a 1-7 mark, but Charlotte closed the year going 2-2 under Rossomando’s direction.
 
Prior to his arrival in Charlotte, Rossomando spent two seasons serving as offensive line coach at Rutgers (2019) and Vanderbilt (2020). Before his time in the Big 10 and Southeastern Conference, Rossomando was named head coach at Central Connecticut State. During his time with the Blue Devils, he led the program to its first NCAA FCS Playoff appearance in program history. CCSU posted an 8-4 overall record in 2017 and won the Northeast Conference title with a perfect 6-0 mark. His efforts on the sideline drew praise from national voters as he was named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year award.
 
Rossomando made the head coaching jump to the NCAA Division I FCS level after spending six seasons at the University of New Haven where he built the program from the ground up. He spent his first season at UNH putting together a staff and recruiting players to take the field for the 2009 campaign. Over the course of the next five seasons, New Haven posted a 42-13 (.737) overall record, including a 33-8 (.805) conference mark. During his final four seasons on campus, Rossomando guided UNH to two eight-win seasons, a 10-win campaign and an 11-win season. The Chargers won two conference titles and advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs in 2011 and 2012.
 
In his final three seasons at New Haven (2011-13), the Chargers went 29-6 (.829) with a 20-2 (.909) record in Northeast-10 Conference games. The stretch included consecutive 8-0 conference records (2011 and 2012). New Haven peaked at No. 3 in the NCAA Division II national rankings in 2012.
 
Prior to taken over as the head coach at New Haven, Rossomando made coaching stops at Albany, Cortland State and Northeastern serving in varying roles from offensive line coach to offensive coordinator and associate head coach. His collegiate coaching career began in 1994 as an assistant at New Haven, where he was on staff for two NCAA playoff runs, including a 1997 NCAA Division II national championship game appearance.
 
A four-time conference coach of the year selection, and the 2012 Liberty Mutual National Division II Coach of the Year, Rossomando has been part of seven conference championship teams as either a head coach or an assistant, as well as serving on staff for the 2002 ECAC Bowl Championship squad and the 1997 NCAA National runner-up team during his first stint at New Haven.
 
A four-year letterwinner at Boston University, playing on both the offense and defensive lines (1990-93), Rossomando helped the Terriers to an undefeated regular season and the 1993 Yankee Conference Championship and the NCAA I-AA Playoffs. Rossomando graduated from BU in 1995 with his bachelor’s in Clinical Exercise Physiology.
 
Rossomando and his wife Jessica have three children – Reese, Gianna and Nicholas.