Clarion Athletics

CLARION – Bert DeSalvo begins his second year as the assistant women’s basketball coach at Clarion University.
 
DeSalvo came to Clarion from Penn State-Beaver where he served as the head women’s basketball coach and the assistant director of athletics.
 
 “I’m excited to have Bert on our staff,” Clarion head coach Gie Parsons said. “He brings a lot to the table. He has great energy and a lot of knowledge. I’m really happy to have someone with his experience on board.”
 
DeSalvo was named the women’s basketball coach at Penn State-Beaver in January 2007 and led the Lions to a 96-26 (.787) record in his tenure at the school while qualifying for the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national tournament in all four seasons. Penn-State Beaver was the USCAA national runner-up last season going 23-8 overall and 16-0 in the Penn State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) regular season. The Lions were PSUAC regular-season champions for the third straight season and were the PSUAC tournament runner-up. DeSalvo led Penn State-Beaver to three straight PSUAC Tournament championships from 2008-2010 while leading the Lions to a 26-4 mark in 2010, a 26-6 record in 2009 and a 21-8 slate in 2008. He was named the PSUAC Coach of the Year after the 2008 campaign and earned the Beaver County Hall of Fame Recognition Award as Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
 
“I’m extremely happy to have this opportunity at Clarion,” DeSalvo said. “The opportunity to work with Coach Parsons, who is a legend, is a huge attraction to me.”
 
In addition to being the women’s basketball coach at Penn State-Beaver, DeSalvo was also the assistant director of athletics, a position he was named to in Sept. 2008. In that capacity, he supported all aspects of the athletic department including game-day management, website publishing and heading the sponsorship program to increase department’s athletic budget and visibility within the community. He also programmed intramural and club sports events and activities.
 
Prior to joining Penn State-Beaver, DeSalvo was an assistant women’s coach at Division III MacMurray College from August 2006 to January 2007. He also spent a season as a men’s assistant coach at NCAA Division I Maryland-Eastern Shore in 2005-2006 and was the girls’ varsity head coach at Chariho High School in Rhode Island during the 2004-2005 season. He also has experience as a junior varsity, middle school and AAU coach.
 
A native of Peace Dale, Rhode Island and a 1997 graduate of South Kingstown High School, DeSalvo earned his bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Rhode Island in 2002 and his master’s degree in Sports Leadership from Duquesne University in May 2009.
 
A member of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), DeSalvo and his wife, Becky, reside in Shippenville.