Darryl Jacobs has worked at no fewer than seven NCAA institutions as a men’s basketball coach. But 15 years after the end of his stint at Felician University, he still recalls his days as a Golden Falcon fondly.

“It was just a family atmosphere,” said Jacobs, who led the Golden Falcons (then Felician College) from 2000 to 2005 in the third of his six head coaching stops. “I’ve never experienced anything like that. I’ve been a lot of places but Felician was, by far, the best family unit I’ve been around.”

Jacobs made the comments during a recording of the latest edition of Falcon Report for Radio Felician University. As the University continues to mark the 25th year of its intercollegiate athletics program, host Jeff Shelly moderated a panel of four individuals to reflect on the department’s roots. The half-hour show will premiere on Sept. 18 at 8 p.m. at http://edge.mixlr.com/channel/oozbc.

The concept of family came up often during the discussion. Many current Felician fans know Ben “JR” DiNallo as the Golden Falcons’ longtime director of athletics. But DiNallo was involved with the athletics programs from the very beginning, starting as a part-time assistant coach and later as a full-time employee and head coach of women’s soccer and basketball.
“If you can imagine someone being a father, and watching their son or daughter get born, and watching the child grow and getting to the point where they’re an adult, that’s kind of how I look at Felician Athletics now at 25 years old,” DiNallo said. “Whenever you start something, you’re very protective of it, as I am about Felician Athletics.”

Sandra Chiera ’02 (nee King) and Aidan O’Brien ’03 represented the student-athletes of the era. Chiera was one of the Felician’s first standout female athletes. She was the leading scorer on the inaugural women’s soccer team in 1998 and also played basketball. When head injuries ended her soccer career prematurely, she helped then-director of athletics Bob Symons found the women’s cross-country program in 2000.

“When I was considering Felician, I felt very welcome there,” Chiera said. “They treated me like family. The professors really bought into all the athletes, so we didn’t feel like a separate entity. We had an amazing coach staff, and to have the professors support us too, was just amazing.”

Felician also helped launch Chiera’s actual family. While a freshman, she met her future husband, Chris Chiera ’00, who was on the Golden Falcon men’s basketball team at the time.
“We have a lot of amazing memories there,” she said. “It’s so much fun to talk to our kids about.”

Top Left-JR Dinallo, Top Right-Darryl Jacobs, Bottom Left-Sandra Chiera, Bottom Right-Aidan O’Brien

The Felician men’s soccer team quickly became family to O’Brien. A native and still resident of Kildare, Ireland, O’Brien was part of an influx of international talent that helped Felician win Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference and NAIA regional championships during both his sophomore and junior seasons.

“It was a difficult thing at the time to come to America from Ireland,” he said. “It was the first year the soccer team really went international. (Coach) Tony (Scorciolla) told us that you’re not gonna get anything easy and you’re going to have to have a desire to beat the odds. We had that built into us quite early on and it made us closer as a team. Even with the other sports, we were all there to do the same thing. That kind of closeness ended up being quite a positive experience.”

For Jacobs, that camaraderie remains a career highlight.

“I loved being around the student-athletes,” he said. “It was just a family. Everyone was so supportive of each other, and that made it very enjoyable. You wanted the success of the other teams; you were rooting for the coaches and the players as well. It was just a tremendous experience, and I’m always thankful for that opportunity.”

The Falcon Report Lookback Show will air on the following dates and times at http://edge.mixlr.com/channel/oozbc

• Friday, September 18, 8 p.m.
• Sunday, September 20, 1 p.m.
• Friday, September 25, 8 p.m.
• Sunday, September 27, 1 p.m.

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About Felician University

Felician University engages over 2,300 undergraduate, graduate, and adult students through programs in Arts & Sciences, Business, Nursing, and Education. Universal Franciscan values of social justice, compassion, and respect for human dignity serve as an inclusive foundation for transforming the lives of tomorrow’s leaders. Felician University’s education is ranked 3rd best return on investment for private colleges in New Jersey 2018 by the PayScale.com College ROI Report and is ranked #1 safest college campus in the state by niche.com.