POSITION: Head Women's Rugby Coach
ALMA MATER: Clemson, 1977
YEARS AT EIU: 16 years ... 122-31 (.797) all-time record ... 4-5 in NCAA games
Frank Graziano accepted the challenge of coaching the premiere NCAA Division I women’s rugby program when he was hired as skipper of the Eastern Illinois program just prior to the start of the 1999 season.
During his 16 year tenure, Graziano molded the program into one of national prominence, as his teams were consistently successful both on and off the field. He earned an impressive 122-31 all-time coaching record, including a 4-5 mark in NCAA contests and a 104-19 mark as a certified NCAA DI program.
The past 2013 and 2014 seasons saw the Panthers notch their two lone losing records, as EIU went 1-6 and 3-4, respectively.
In 2012, the Panthers finished the season at 6-2, playing three Rugby 7s contests where they went 1-2 overall in that new Olympic-inspired format. EIU dropped their lone NCAA DI contest against rival Quinnipiac, yet did end the season on a six-game winning streak.
The 2011 EIU unit went 10-0, which marked the third undefeated season in four years. Key wins included three historic victories (24-0, 33-5 and 66-3) over NCAA newcomer Quinnipiac, marking the first-ever multi-game season series between a pair of Division I squads. Eastern also enjoyed a complete game win over arch-rival Northern Iowa. For the season, the Panthers would ended up out-scoring the opposition 503 to 71.
In 2010, the Panthers continued to dominate the opposition and despite having the program's 29-game winning streak snapped, EIU still had a great year as they recorded a 10-1 mark and blanking their opponents eight times.
The 2009 squad, meanwhile, finished undefeated at 10-0, outscoring the competition 618 to 63 and recording five shutouts. The team also extended the current school-record winning streak to 26 games dating back to the last six games of 2007.
The Panthers also notched an additional 22 single-season highs over the course of the year, as well as upping several career marks. That includes the top two tackle marks via defensive standouts Stephanie Militello and Chase Cain.
Key wins included dominating Iowa State (61-5), Southern Illinois (103-0) and Big Ten power Minnesota (49-0), all on the road, while EIU also had big wins over Missouri and Illinois at home.
The 2008 edition of EIU Rugby was also one for the record books, as the Panthers finished with the program’s second undefeated season, finishing 10-0 and outscoring the opposition, 634 to 39. EIU also notched six shutouts, including blanking their final five opponents.
The 2008 squad also tallied numerous school-records in the process, as the tallied an amazing 75 total bests, including single-game, season and career marks. That included coaching one of the Panthers’ most outstanding players, Samantha Manta (2005-08), whose top marks for single-game and career points, trys, and runs-over-20-yards are destined to remain in place for years to come.
In 2007, EIU hosted the historic first-ever women’s rugby contest between two NCAA programs, as the Division I Panthers battled Division II West Chester in front of a school-record crowd of 1,237. Although EIU dropped the hard-fought contest, 20-19, it was official, the first official NCAA women’s rugby game was on the books. Eastern went on to win the final six games of the season to finish 8-2 overall.
However, EIU avenged that NCAA loss to West Chester by completely dominating the Golden Rams, 38-5, in a rematch this past season on the road.
Back in 1999, Graziano’s inaugural season, the Panthers finished 5-3 and participated in the National Tournament, where EIU went 3-1, reaching the elite eight before losing to national runner-up Princeton.
Recruiting became a priority as his team soon boasted its best recruiting class in its short history. However, with a roster composed mostly of underclassmen, the young 2001 squad recorded the program’s only losing record, finishing 3-4 overall. However, once again the team recorded a victory over a Big Ten team, downing the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Since that down year, Graziano has guided the Panthers through seven consecutive winning seasons, while sporting an impressive 64-6 record during that time span.
The growing pains of 2001 was easily forgotten following the team’s inaugural NCAA season in 2002. EIU recorded victories over schools from the ACC, SEC, Big 12, and Big Ten on its way to an unblemished 11-0 record. This historic squad not only outscored the opposition by an astounding 683-12 margin, but also notched ten shutouts while setting six new team records.
In 2003, EIU’s winning ways continued as the Panthers opened the season 4-0, after defeating Ohio State at home to close out the month of September. Unfortunately the momentum was snapped at the hands of a tough and talented Penn State squad the following week. EIU rebounded, however, by winning its final four games, including victories at Stanford and a comeback win over North Carolina on neutral territory.
“I came to Eastern Illinois to develop THE rugby model for this new emerging NCAA sport,” says Graziano. “At times the challenge has been daunting considering there is no high school rugby in the country, only select club teams, but the University and student-athletes have accepted the challenge and we continue to achieve our goals each and every year.”
Graziano and winning rugby are synonymous with one another, as every program he has ever been associated with has turned out to be successful. There are two reasons -- his continued commitment to recruit the very best student-athletes and his special knack of challenging his players to perform above and beyond expectations.
Graziano also emphasizes the importance of academics in the life of each of his student-athletes. His teams have a 100% graduation rate and only one time has one of his squads’ GPA average been below a 3.0 in any given semester.
Prior to coming to the EIU campus, Graziano served as an assistant coach for the Women’s National Team U-23 program, and was National Event Coordinator and Collegiate Director for the USA Rugby organization.
Graziano also created the women’s rugby team at his alma mater back in 1995 as Clemson recorded a 21-4 record its first two seasons. He also had a 91-38-4 record with the Clemson men’s squad from 1992-1997.
A graduate of Clemson University with a Bachelor of Science degree with a civil engineering emphasis, some of Graziano’s creations can be located on EIU’s campus. He has designed and constructed several press boxes and storage facilities for the athletic department, including the structure at the Panthers’ own Lakeside Rugby Field.