Hall of Fame
Joe Spadafino was a four-year letter winner and a three-year starter on the offensive line for coach Roy Kidd's EKU football Colonels from 1981-85. After helping the Colonels win the OVC title and advance to the national championship game as a freshman as the backup left tackle, he started his sophomore season at left tackle as the Colonels won the OVC crown and their second national championship. While making its magical 13-0 run, Eastern led the OVC in total offense with 353.1 yards per game and scored 27 rushing touchdowns and 14 TDs passing. After breaking his foot in the second game of his junior season in 1983, he received a medical redshirt. He returned to the starting lineup in 1984 as the starting right tackle and was chosen first-team All-OVC and third-team Associated Press All-American while serving the team as offensive co-captain. The Colonels led the conference that season in rushing offense with their 206.4 yards per game average as EKU scored 26 rushing touchdowns and won its fourth consecutive OVC championship. As a senior in 1985, he was a first-team Kodak All-American and second team AP All-American pick at left guard as Eastern again led the conference in total offense with its high-powered 392.3 yards per game average while scoring 31 rushing touchdowns. He was also chosen that season as the team's Most Valuable Offensive Player and Most Valuable Offensive Lineman as EKU closed the season and his career with an impressive 45-21 dismantling of the University of Louisville. A native of Dover, Del., he was selected as the 1985 Delaware College Player of the Year by the Lower Delaware Gridiron Club. He also was the 2006 recipient of the George T. Sargisson Award, the most prestigious award given by the Delaware Recreation and Parks Society for contributions to the field of Parks and Recreation in Delaware. He has also been a member of two national championship softball teams and has been named to four Men's Major Division All-American teams from 1993-2001.
