University of New Hampshire Athletics
William P. Pizzano ’49
12/22/2015 1:03:00 PM | Athletics Development
He was a dedicated fan of UNH football for more than fifty years and a friend to all he met.
As the story goes, Bill Pizzano's long relationship with UNH got its start thanks to his mother. In 1944, an under-age Pizzano wanted to follow his siblings into the U.S. Navy. Concerned that he would never attend college, his mother refused to sign the necessary papers. Pizzano instead became the star quarterback on the Wildcat football team and was named to the All-New England Small College Team. Called to active duty in 1945, he was honorably discharged a year later and completed his UNH degree. He served as an officer in the naval reserves for 37 years. Together with his late wife Hazel, Pizzano attended all but a handful of UNH football games, both home and away, for more than fifty years. After retiring from the Massachusetts Department of Public Works, Pizzano began a second career as UNH Director of Alumni Activities.
In his new role, he was dedicated to UNH athletes and non-athletes alike. He quietly helped those in need, sometimes long after they had left the university, and forged friendships that continued right up until his death on February 14 in Topsfield, Mass. UNH honored Pizzano with the Robert "Bo" Dickson Football Spirit Award and the Meritorious Service Award from the Alumni Association. He was inducted into the ROTC Hall of Fame, the UNH Hall of Fame, and in 2007 he received the Profile of Service Award for his dedication to the university. Toward the end of his life, when he could no longer attend football games, Pizzano counted on his friends in Athletics Development to call him after every quarter and let him know how the team was doing. His dedication to UNH football never wavered, and Amy Sheehan recalls that when she visited him for the last time, he beckoned her close and whispered, "The stadium?" He was referring to the upcoming $25 million upgrade to Cowell Stadium, the progress of which he had been closely following. "It was," says Sheehan, "almost as if he had to know that the plans were coming along before he could move on."
In his new role, he was dedicated to UNH athletes and non-athletes alike. He quietly helped those in need, sometimes long after they had left the university, and forged friendships that continued right up until his death on February 14 in Topsfield, Mass. UNH honored Pizzano with the Robert "Bo" Dickson Football Spirit Award and the Meritorious Service Award from the Alumni Association. He was inducted into the ROTC Hall of Fame, the UNH Hall of Fame, and in 2007 he received the Profile of Service Award for his dedication to the university. Toward the end of his life, when he could no longer attend football games, Pizzano counted on his friends in Athletics Development to call him after every quarter and let him know how the team was doing. His dedication to UNH football never wavered, and Amy Sheehan recalls that when she visited him for the last time, he beckoned her close and whispered, "The stadium?" He was referring to the upcoming $25 million upgrade to Cowell Stadium, the progress of which he had been closely following. "It was," says Sheehan, "almost as if he had to know that the plans were coming along before he could move on."
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