If you’re a student-athlete at Sarah Lawrence College, you know Joe. “That man is an icon,” says Bismillah Bath, a sophomore on the basketball team. Members of the Campbell Sports Center faculty have come and gone; new coaches, new directors, new building managers. But, Joe remains. In fact, he’s been here longer than the sports center itself. In 1982 armed with his bachelors from Lehman, his masters from the College of New Rochelle and years of hands-on experience, Joe Ianotti applied for the physical education position at SLC. He describes his interview with former Dean of the College Barbara Kaplan as “laid-back.” She sat with her feet up on a chair, casually smoking a cigarette in her Westlands office. Mr. Ianotti understood athletics were unique at a small liberal arts school, and that year he was hired as a ‘part-time’ employee. Almost forty years later holds this same title, although his responsibilities have varied.

Today, he sits, legs crossed on a couch in the downstairs lounge of the campus sports center. He’s dressed in his customary attire: a gryphon green 1/4 zip sweatshirt, his well-worn SLC duffle bag almost always slung across his left shoulder sits deflated, looking virtually empty by his feet. When asked about the beginning role of SLC athletics, without pause he answered: “there was always this concern about Sarah Lawrence students being too cerebral, not getting out and interacting with each other,” Joe admits, “we weren’t trying to create stellar athletes, we were trying to make them total students.” The focus was on building self-esteem, and encouraging socialization. But, the space within which to do so was limited. The half-court-length room that is now used for faculty dining once functioned as the campus’s sole gymnasium. Here, Joe worked with fellow educators as well as college students, spreading his knowledge on the benefits of exercise. In summer, local elementary teachers came to learn about movement and body awareness by collectively contemplating questions such as, “can you have three points of your body touching the floor? Can you hop backward?”

SLC P.E classes didn’t feature typical ball sports, but instead a variety of simpler games. Mr.Ianotti explains, “we knew we had to do something different, it was low level with a high interest.” Two more factors contribute to making athletics distinctive at Sarah Lawrence, are that most of the student population comes in with negative experiences of phys-ed, and that being so bookish, many are perfectionists. Within the classroom shortcomings are often not visible, but in sports weaknesses are explicitly apparent. Therefore, it was a question of finding one’s comfort level, it was providing consistent reinforcement on Mr.Ianotti’s side, and trying to accept that one cannot be perfect at everything. His early career working with at-risk, emotionally disturbed children at Leake and Watts in Yonkers, and Children’s Village in Dobbs Ferry, gave him the knowledge of how to mitigate emotionally vulnerable situations. This work requires a special personality, and Joe’s calming presence proves he was in the right profession.

He recollects the joy his young students reaped from gym class, saying matter-of-factly “they just loved to play.” Mr.Ianotti wanted his college student to experience this simple delight, and found city playground games, four-square and red light green light, did the trick. These games permitted participants to enjoy the moment, while making conversation and connections with peers. Both bocce and croquet were beloved units, and the contests took place right on the main lawn of campus. The six-week block concluded with a celebration, Italian food and tea with student’s dressed in all white, traditional croquet attire.

Bowling was another favorite. During ‘bowling season,’ Mr.Ianotti would submit the scores each week to the school newspaper, and in a little blurb dubbed “From the Alleys” the top 3 hurlers were spotlighted. He struck a deal with the owner of the alley, and bought out-of- commission bowling pins to repurpose as awards. Mr.Ianotti recognized the social importance of exercise, and reflected “it’s been a journey, and I’ve got to know a lot of people.”

On September 11th 1998, the Campbell Sports Center opened for business. The 480,000 square foot, $7.5 million building gave the Gryphons a home, and an “extramural” athletic program blossomed. What began as mere games of pick-up transformed into organized play, and games between other non-NCAA schools became more and more frequent. Mr. Ianotti coached the men’s basketball, women’s volleyball, and cross-country teams, as well as P.E. His eyes lit up, and he sat up a little straighter when talking about his basketball guys, who he called a “bunch of characters.” Mr. Ianotti laughed to himself, lost in his own reminiscing, and “the important thing is, we talk about the memories, not the wins or loses.” A 2002 New York Times article entitled “College Basketball: Colleges like Sarah Lawrence are Putting Poets in Motion” concludes with a quote from Tommy Yaps, the team captain: “I think the team’s attractive to kids who read Kerouac and Ginsberg, but still have a jump shot” which captures the Gryphon mindset. Joe coached the basketball team from 2000-2007, and each player got the chance to play in every game. He preached hard work, and felt it hypocritical if a player wasn’t given a chance for this work to pay off. In a 2003 SLC article titled “Basketball Team Had a Good Year,” Mr. Ianotti maintains “practice is really where the work is. The game is the reward.” When asked what his coaching motto was there was no hesitation: “we play all, but fear none. We play hard, we play smart, we play together.”

Macombs Dam Park, Bronx New York (1950’s)

Mr. Ianotti grew up in the Bronx playing baseball, basketball, and later football; he developed a love for sports at an early age. The home field was Macombs Park next to Yankee Stadium, and he describes the thrill of scouts watching a baseball game of his in the tenth grade. But, when asked who his all-time favorite athlete was, Joe paused a moment and smiled: “My dad. Other kids dream of meeting their hero, I lived with mine,” his pointed proudly to his chest. His father was a professional boxer, who immigrated from San Prisco, Italy to New Haven at the age of fourteen. ‘Joey Ianotti’ earned the title of Featherweight Champion of Connecticut in 1938. He went the distance with the legendary Willie Pep, and boasted a professional career of 41-17-4 with 26 KO’s. His father was a family man and instilled the importance of “doing the best you can” in everything you do. Even though Mr.Ianotti didn’t fulfill the childhood dream of becoming a pro athlete, he believes teaching/coaching was his calling. Confucius once said, “choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life,”and it seems Joe did just that.

To this day, he is still an active member of the Campbell Sports Center staff, and works as the game-day administrator for home events. Mr. Ianotti expresses both pride and surprise that athletics have begun to outgrow the Campbell Sports Center, something many argued wouldn’t take root at Sarah Lawrence. Some may contend that the gryphons outgrew Mr.Ianotti, because the coaching staff has seen a shift in their demographics. Someone with no collegiate athletic career would now struggle to obtain a coaching position at SLC, in fact a few coaches played at a whole other level, and had successful careers at division I institutions. This does not seem to be a reflection on Mr.Ianotti, but rather an inevitable response to the changing times, the progress of the program. Even so, Matt Torres, the college’s sports information director, views Joe as an asset, “he brings an abundance of historical context to the department that is invaluable for the future of the school’s fifteen varsity programs.”

He’s respected by both faculty and students, not only for the work he does, but for the support he brings by merely being himself. Kenzie Mindish, a four-year starter on the softball team, says she looks forward to chatting with Mr. Ianotti “he’s always asking us how games went and how the team is looking for the season, I feel like he truly cares about each and every team on this campus.” His impact goes beyond the court. Just as his love for sports goes beyond the play: it is ultimately about the people. His philosophies, his stories, his mentality are things that 5 speak directly to D3 athletics. He cleared his throat once, then twice, a hint of tears in his eyes, and closed the interview, saying: “I just can’t leave here, I wish I could do it all again.”

Karissa McAuley ‘20

Get to Know Joe