Elon University Athletics

Named the 23rd head football coach at Elon University on Dec. 17, 2018, Tony Trisciani completed his sixth season at the helm of the program in the fall of 2024. Widely familiar with the CAA Football landscape, the 2024 season marked Trisciani's 29th year as a football coach and his 19th year coaching at a CAA Football institution. Known for developing champions, Trisciani's career has featured multiple conference championships on the field while guiding his defensive units to national leaders in multiple categories and coaching numerous all-conference and All-American student-athletes.?

Trisciani is also a leader locally and nationally, serving on the AFCA Rules Committee and as a voter in the AFCA Coaches Poll. He also works on the coaches council for the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation and serves on Elon Athletics’ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion subcommittee.?

In his second stint at Elon, the 2024 season marked Trisciani's ninth with the Phoenix overall. Formerly a defensive assistant with the program under Pete Lembo in 2006, Trisciani returned to Rhodes Stadium ahead of the 2017 season as the program's defensive coordinator before being elevated to head coach prior to the 2019 campaign. Since his return to Elon, Trisciani has helped the Phoenix defeat 16 Top 25 programs while making three NCAA FCS playoff appearances. Elon advanced to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time in the program’s Division I history in 2017 and 2018 and then returned to the postseason in 2022.?

Trisciani has developed the Elon program into one of the best in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA). Since 2021, Elon is the only program in the league to win at least five conference games in all four seasons. The Phoenix’s 22 CAA wins is tied for the program’s most conference victories in a four-year stretch since beginning play in FCS Football. Elon ended one game shy of its first CAA championship in both 2022 and 2023.

In 2024, Elon played a challenging schedule, finishing with a 6-6 overall record and a 5-3 mark in CAA Football play. The Phoenix faced formidable opponents, including an FBS matchup against Duke and several competitive conference games. Despite the rigorous schedule, Elon secured notable victories, such as a 40-36 win over No. 20 William & Mary on Nov. 9. The team also demonstrated resilience by closing the season with four consecutive wins, highlighting their growth and determination throughout the year.

Emphasizing discipline, Trisciani's team ranked among the top 25 in the country in turnovers lost (No. 17 with 12), interceptions thrown (No. 18 with six) and time of possession (No. 25 at 31:22). Defensively, the team ranked among the top 30 in third down rate allowed (No. 18 at 34.0 percent) and first downs allowed (No. 27 with 211). Once again, special teams were explosive and Elon was No. 9 in net punting (41.2 yards) and No. 13 in kick return average (24.85 yards).

Returning to the Phoenix as the defensive coordinator in 2017, Trisciani's defense helped pull off six Top 25 victories over the course of his two years leading the defense, including the program's Division I signature win Oct. 6, 2018, when it defeated No. 2 James Madison 27-24 at Bridgeforth Stadium to end JMU's 22-game home winning streak. On the afternoon, Trisciani’s defense held the Dukes to just 103 rushing yards after JMU averaged 220.4 per game entering the day.?

Bringing his 3-3-5 scheme to Elon, his leadership in 2017 and 2018 saw Elon's total defense drop 62.4 yards per game from 2016 to 2018 with its average points allowed falling 7.1 per outing in that stretch. In 2018, Elon forced 20 turnovers to lead the league with a plus-9 turnover margin after forcing 21 in 2017. The turnover trend continued after his elevation to head coach with the team forcing 21 turnovers in 2019 while leading the league in turnover margin during the regular season at plus-9.?

Before returning to North Carolina, Trisciani spent five seasons at Villanova as the Wildcats’ secondary coach and recruiting coordinator. With the program, 10 of his student-athletes earned All-Conference accolades. In 2016, Villanova led the nation in total defense and CAA Football in rushing defense and scoring defense. The Wildcats intercepted 10 passes and were third in the league in turnover margin.?

Prior to his stop at Villanova, Trisciani was the head coach at Whitehall High School in Whitehall, Pa. During his time at Whitehall, he led the team to three Eastern Conference 4A playoff appearances, including the 2009 Eastern Conference championship. In 2010, Trisciani guided the Zephyrs to the district championship game with a 10-3 record.

Ahead of his first stint at Elon, Trisciani spent the 2005 season as the linebackers coach at Lehigh. Before that, he spent four seasons as the defensive backs coach at New Hampshire, where he led three student-athletes to All-CAA Football honors. The run followed his time as running backs coach at New Hampshire from 1998-2000, during which Trisciani coached two future NFL performers in Jerry Azumah and Dan Kreider. Other collegiate coaching stops included Alfred University and Springfield College.

As a player, Trisciani was a four-year starter and two-year captain at Springfield, where he was the 1992 New England Rookie of the Year and the 1995 Springfield College Athlete of the Year and Team MVP. He earned a bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation services in 1996 and pursued a masters in health studies from Springfield from 1996-98.

Trisciani and his wife, Julie, reside in Elon and are the parents of two children, Shane and Hannah (a 2022 Elon graduate).