The staff of The Polytechnic would like to congratulate the winner of the 2001 Poly Person of the Year Award, football Coach Joe King. We would also like to thank Rensselaer community members for sending in nominations for the award.
After careful consideration, King was selected by The Poly’s Editorial Board from a pool of seven distinguished nominees of faculty, staff, and students. King was recognized for guiding the football team to their second perfect regular season in three years and their second NCAA appearance in their history.
“I think it’s a nice honor. I was very happy for Kevin Beattie [last year’s winner],” said King. “I would like to thank The Poly for the coverage they give [the football program]. This past year was a very gratifying year.” King hopes to keep up the team’s good standings next year.
During the offseason, King will be very involved in recruitment efforts for next season’s football team, as many players are graduating this year. He will also be planning for next year’s opponents and schedule of games.
“Things are winding down. We’ll try to assess where we’re at. We’d like to see if we can go back to the postseason ... I think that’s always in the back of our minds,” said King. Next year’s football team will try to keep the Transit and Dutchman Shoes trophies in the RPI trophy case and take the Shotglass Trophy away from Coast Guard. (Because of the events of September 11, Rensselaer’s game against the Coast Guard was canceled last season.)
If the football team does get back to the tournament, they will also be seeking to go further there. “This year we took a step futher with the bye ... I think that’s our goal—to try to get farther in the tournament if we possibly could,” said King.
