John Audino, Ricky Santos Join the Football Staff
3/21/2016 12:25:00 PM | Football
NEW YORK – Former Union and Kean head coach John Audino is coming back to Columbia for his second stint as an assistant to serve as the tight end coach, while former New Hampshire wide receivers coach and CFL quarterback Ricky Santos will join the staff as quarterbacks coach, announced by Patricia and Shepard Alexander Head Coach of Football, Al Bagnoli.
"I am thrilled to have John and Ricky join our staff," Bagnoli said. "Both are outstanding individuals, teachers and recruiters. They will be great role models to our student athletes and tremendous ambassadors to the entire Columbia University football family."
John Audino spent the past 24 seasons as the head coach at Union, replacing Bagnoli in the 1992 season after he left the Dutchmen to take over at Penn. The former running back at Notre Dame took the Dutchmen to the D-III playoffs five times, and led the team to four Liberty League titles during his tenure.
Altogether, Audino posted the most wins in school history with a record of 152-89, winning eight or more games on nine different occasions. Throughout his time at Union, Audino coached 16 All-Americans, including Gagliardi Trophy finalists Noah Joseph (2012, linebacker), John Peters (2009, linebacker), Tom Arcidiacono (2005, running back), and Marco Lainez (1993, linebacker). He coached a total of 145 Liberty League all-academic student athletes, and 146 all-conference players.
Prior to his time at Union, Audino spent two seasons as the head coach at Kean from 1990-91, after five different stints as an assistant coach.
Audino got his start in coaching at Albany in 1975, where he served as the special teams coach for two seasons, alongside Bagnoli, who was a graduate assistant at the time. From 1977-81, he coached at Columbia as an assistant, before taking over as the tight ends coach at Kentucky during the 1982 season.
In 1983, Audino linked back up with Bagnoli at Union, serving as the offensive coordinator on the D-III national championship runner-up team. He helped the Dutchmen to three-straight seasons with nine or more wins before coaching at Penn as the wide receivers and quarterback coach from 1986-89, before taking over at Kean.
Audino is a 1975 graduate of Notre Dame.
Ricky Santos spent the 2013-15 seasons at the University of New Hampshire as the wide receiver coach and punt return coordinator. During his time with the Wildcats, the team advanced to the FCS Playoffs all three years, as he helped UNH to a 29-12 record.
On the sidelines, Santos helped to advance the career of R.J. Harris, a two-time All-CAA wideout, who garnered first team AP All-American honors and was a Walter Payton Award finalist after breaking a conference record with 4,328 career yards, to go along with 36 career touchdowns.
Prior to his time coaching in Durham, Santos spent five seasons in the CFL with both the Montreal Alouettes and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He was signed with the Alouettes after a brief stint with the Kansas City Chiefs after his impressive collegiate career at UNH.
Santos was a three-time All-American quarterback at New Hampshire, earning the 2006 Walter Payton Award as the Player of the Year in the FCS. The 2016 UNH Hall of Fame inductee was a two-time Atlantic-10 Offensive Player of the Year, earning the conferences Rookie of the Year award in 2004. Santos is a 2008 graduate of the University of New Hampshire, earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology.
