Hall of Fame
Dick Cerone dedicated over 50 years of his professional life to the improvement of the sport of football in New York State. He served NYSPHSAA as the Football Chairman from 1981-2014 and was the catalyst for initiating, developing and conducting the NYSPHSAA Football Finals at the Carrier Dome from 1993-2014. It was 16 years before the first football state tournament that Dick recognized the need to provide a playoff structure for the Section V football playoffs and did so in 1977 which began a long history of successful Section tournaments. As the Section Coordinator from 1974-2017, Cerone was responsible for numerous other improvements in the game including developing football clinics, establishing the NYS Football Coaches Association (where he served as President) and creating the Eddie Meath All-Star Game showcase event. Considered a “trailblazer” in football in NYS, Dick contributed an immense amount to the game while having a successful career as an Athletic Director at several schools including Monroe High School (1977-80), Greece Athena High School (1980-92) and Aquinas Institute (1996-2006). Since 2012, he has been serving as the Athletic Director at University Preparatory School. His numerous honors include being inducted into the Section V Football Hall of Fame, the Section V Executive Hall of Fame, the Aquinas Institute Hall of Fame, the Italian American Hall of Fame, and the Greece Athena High School Hall of Fame. He has additionally received the NFHS Appreciation Award, Kodak Community Service Award, Chapter 5 NYSAAA Distinguished Service Award and NYS Football Coaches Award. As a football coach from 1963-77 at Jefferson High School, Dick led his teams to three City Championships and went 68-45 while earning Coach of the Year honors three times. A West High School (Section V) graduate in 1953, Dick earned a Bachelors and Masters from Ithaca College then went on to serve in the Army from 1954-56 where he played football and basketball, and umpired baseball during his service.