July 2, 2002
EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Lafayette head football coach Frank Tavani announced today that former Phillipsburg head football coach Bruce Smith will join the Leopards' coaching staff as a part-time assistant coach and will work with the defensive ends.
"We are extremely fortunate to have acquired the services of Bruce Smith," said Tavani, who enters his third season as the Leopards' head coach. "He has such a strong background in the coaching world and he is tremendous with the players. I am really excited about the top quality staff we now have in place."
Smith served as the head coach at Phillipsburg High School from 1990-97 and has been the defensive line coach at Bethlehem Catholic for the past three seasons. His coaching resume also includes eight seasons as an assistant coach at Phillipsburg prior to being named head coach, a two-year stint at Johnsonburg (Pa.) High School and a four-year tenure at Scotland School for Veteran's Children in Scotland, Pa.
"I'm really looking forward to coaching on the collegiate level at Lafayette," Smith said. "In my time as a coach at Phillipsburg High School, I developed a strong professional relationship with Frank Tavani through his recruiting efforts of Phillipsburg football players. I hope that my experience can help to continue to build success within the Lafayette football program."
Smith has served as a teacher or administrator in the Phillipsburg school district since 1982 and currently is a sixth-grade science teacher at Phillipsburg Middle School.
During his eight seasons as the head coach at Phillipsburg, he handled all duties associated with the football program and started several key initiatives including a Halloween canned food drive to benefit local food banks, an NCAA Information Night for local athletes and a golf outing fund-raiser that established a college scholarship fund.
In his first season as the head coach at Phillipsburg, he led the Stateliners to a 10-1 record and the 1990 East Penn Conference championship. For his efforts, The Express-Times named Smith the area Coach of the Year.
A resident of Nazareth, Pa., Smith is a 1978 graduate of Bloomsburg University where he earned a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and held a minor in Physical Education.
Lafayette begins preseason practice with the incoming freshmen on Monday, Aug. 12, with the first full-squad practice scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 15. The Leopards officially open the 2002 season on Sept. 7 by hosting Monmouth in the first of three straight home contests to start the schedule.
