BY CHARLES COSTELLO

College coaches are part of a special fraternity. At any given university, the volleyball coach and the baseball manager work for the same athletic director, the same president, and the same trustees. They represent the same institution. Their offices are usually within walking distance of each other, perhaps in the same building or right next door. Their success in many ways is linked to the success of the other programs. And because of that, a natural bond is formed.

Tom Masella

At Fordham, things are no different. The head coaches of the university’s two marquee programs – Tom Masella (football) and Dereck Whittenburg (men’s basketball) – have a lot in common. Masella graduated from Wagner in 1981 and coached there for three years. He’s been at Fordham for the past four seasons. Whittenburg coached at Wagner for four years, leading the Seahawks to the NCAA tournament in 2003, before he took over at Fordham. This is his seventh season at Rose Hill.

And then there are the numbers that matter most.

After winning the Patriot League crown in 2007, Masella’s club finished a disappointing 5-6 in 2008. Then, looking to rebound this season, the Rams finished 5-6 once again. In 2006-07, Whittenburg’s squad finished 18-12, and with the key players from that 18-win team back for one more season, big things were expected the following year. In 2007-08, however, the Rams finished just 12-17. Things got worse last year, as Fordham won just three games in what turned out to be one of the toughest seasons in the program’s history.

Given all that, it’s no surprise that Masella and Whittenburg share something that perhaps only coaches can understand. In comments made to Fordham SportsNet during an interview last summer, Masella said he could sympathize with Whittenburg over the recent struggles of his program.

Dereck Whittenburg

“Coach Whittenburg has been great to me,” Masella said. “It’s not as easy as it looks from the outside to everybody. I know it’s been rough. Believe me, there’s no one who’s more disappointed than he is. There’s no one who puts forth more effort. Sometimes in sports, other things factor into success and failure. Sometimes it has nothing to do with coaching and recruiting. Not everybody can win every year. Unfairly, people don’t realize that.

“I’m sure he’s going to have [his] program back in great shape. All of the naysayers will be praising him down the road. He’s a terrific guy and a terrific coach. Fordham University is lucky to have him.”

Masella said that he keeps a close eye on the other athletic programs at Fordham as well, and roots hard for their success.

“I’m a big fan and big supporter of all Fordham athletics,” he said. “You feel for everybody when they don’t have success, and you hope they do.

“We’re all in this together. When Fordham basketball is doing well it makes my job in recruiting easier. If the baseball team is doing well it makes my job easier. When there’s great excitement in the athletic department for all sports it makes it easier to fundraise, it makes it easier to get people to come to games, it makes it easier for us to recruit. We all work long hours whether you’re successful or not, so you feel for people when they work hard and they don’t have the success that they want.”

And back to the one whose office is down the hall from his, Masella made it clear that he’s rooting for Whittenburg, both the man and the coach.

“He has not changed,” Masella said about Whittenburg. “He didn’t change when he had that good year a couple years ago and he didn’t change [last] year. Coach Whittenburg is Coach Whittenburg. He’s a good man.

“Everybody wants success every time, all the time, and in sports that doesn’t happen. I don’t think he’s looking back. I’m sure he’s looking at what they can do better to be successful.”

Spoken like a true coach.