Joseph J. Verducci with two men with a map on a round marble table. Joseph J. Verducci was the Director of Athletics (head football coach); Professor of Physical Education; Associate Dean of Students (Activities). BA (1933) and Advanced Study, University of California, Berkeley. Coach Joe Verducci served as Mayor of Daly City and was highly organized: every part of his day, week, month was structured. Verducci directed a very successful athletic program within physical education instruction. In ten years his teams won Far West Conference championships six times and he was selected “coach of the Year” twice: in 1957 and 1959. In October 1961, San Francisco State University officially adopted Verducci’s “Statement of Philosophy on Student Activities” which stated, “In the past, we have tried to make the distinctions which the students as responsible adults should have made. Students should be encouraged to think for themselves and to accept the consequence of their own actions. This is the only path to responsible adulthood and citizenship. In view of our involvement and our responsibilities (as well as in view of our limitations), the essence of our policy must be to apply all policies to all students and groups equally; to base these policies on the belief that our students should be respected as adults who live in a democratic community; and to share with the community the responsibility for these affairs…” The campus is stunned when Verducci died while playing handball on campus November 6, 1964. With his passing, the power of the Athletics program diminished.
