Entering eighth season at TCNJ in Fall of 2021
Craig Cicardo joined the TCNJ football program in 2011, and started as the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He returned to TCNJ in 2015 as the program’s quarterback coach and has maintained that role. Prior to his return to TCNJ, he served for two years as the offensive coordinator at Kean University.
In 2019, TCNJ quarterback Andrew Donoghue threw for 1,781 yards under Cicardo's guidance. That ranks seventh-most in a single season in TCNJ program history. Donoghue also threw for 13 touchdowns which ranked fourth in the NJAC and ninth in a single season in TCNJ history.
Cicardo started his coaching journey in 1989 as a Graduate Assistant coach at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, La., after completing his playing days as a quarterback at FDU-Madison. At McNeese, Cicardo was responsible for the wide receivers in the spring and the tight ends in the fall.
In 1990, he was named the head coach at Mater Dei High School in New Monmouth, N.J., where he coached until 1999, leading the Seraphs to their first ever state playoff victory and first ever state final. In 2000, he moved on to Pinelands Regional High School in Tuckerton, N.J., as the head coach for four years, leading the program to their first ever state playoff appearance in 2002.
In 2004, Cicardo went on to coach wide receivers at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J. The Hawks went 10-1 that year on their way to a Northeast Conference Championship and a Mid-Major 1-AA National Championship.
In 2005, Cicardo accepted a teaching and coaching job at his high school alma mater, Lacey Township (N.J.). As associate head coach/offensive coordinator, he had the opportunity to work with his mentor and coach, Lou Vircillo. From 2005 to 2010, Lacey had a record of of 56-14, played in four South Jersey Sectional Finals, won three conference championships, and achieved two undefeated, 12-0 seasons where it won the South Jersey Group 3 Sectional Championships in 2006 and 2010.
Coach presently serves as the “Teacher Coordinator of Culture” at Lacey Township (N.J.) High School. He and his wife Jeanine reside in Forked River, N.J. and are the parents of Craig (TCNJ ‘15) and Kirsten.
