Air Force Academy

June 29, 2010

USAFA, Colo. - The final piece of the Air Force women's basketball coaching staff is in place, as head coach Andrea Williams has announced the addition of Tom Mosca as an assistant coach. Mosca, a former head coach at the University of Tampa, comes to the Academy after an already long and successful career.

"I'm thrilled to have Tom on board with us," said Williams, who worked for Mosca as an assistant at Tampa. "We've talked for years about working together again. He has a great offensive mind and will be a lot of help in terms of X's and O's. He is also going to bring a dynamic aspect to our staff, in terms of his personality. He has a knack for tapping into the team's positives and strengths, which will be invaluable, particularly with our players."

In his most recent stop, Mosca spent seven years as the girls' basketball coach at Thomas Jefferson High School in Tampa, Fla. Named the 2010 4A Coach of the Year by the Florida Association of Basketball Coaches, Mosca helped turn around Jefferson's program during his seven-year tenure. Prior to his arrival in 2003, the Dragons had won just one game in three years. However, Mosca compiled a 111-79 record while at Jefferson, culminating in a standout season in 2009-10. The Dragons were ranked seventh in the Florida 4A classification, as Mosca led Jefferson to a 28-4 overall record, which included district and regional championships, as well as the program's first-ever trip to the Florida Final Four.

In his seven seasons at Jefferson, Mosca earned five Coach of the Year honors, led eight All-Western Conference players and coached one Hillsborough County Player of the Year. In addition, five of his players went on to earn college scholarships.

Prior to coaching at Jefferson, Mosca spent 13 seasons (1989-2002) as the head women's basketball coach at Division II University of Tampa. There he worked in a part-time status, teaching high school by day and coaching/running the Spartans' program by night. During his tenure at Tampa, Mosca compiled a 211-150 overall record, leading the Spartans to a Sunshine State Conference regular season championship and tournament championship, as well as a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.

A 1969 graduate of the University of Tampa, Mosca began his coaching career in 1971 as the athletic director and head football and men's basketball coach at Sanders Memorial School (grades 6-8) in Land O' Lakes, Fla. In 1974, he moved on to Robinson High School in Tampa, Fla., to coach girls' basketball, compiling a 135-37 record in seven seasons. While at Robinson, Mosca led his team to three 20-win seasons, with one team ranked first in the state. His teams won a pair of Western Conference championships, while he also coached a conference player of the year.

Mosca took over at Brandon High School in 1981, where he stayed until moving to the University of Tampa in 1989. He guided the Eagles to a pair of 30-win seasons, with each team earning a number-one ranking in the state of Florida, while leading another team to a 20-win season and a state top-10 ranking. One team was also ranked 19th in the nation by USA Today. Mosca also led Brandon to two appearances in the state Final Four and three Western Conference championships. During his tenure, Mosca earned two Coach of the Year honors and guided a player who was named Miss Basketball for the state of Florida.

After so many years as a successful coach at the high school level, Mosca now has the opportunity to return to coaching collegiately.

"I'm very excited to be making the big move [to the Air Force Academy]," said Mosca. "It's going to be a lot of fun going back to work with Andrea and coaching together. We both have high expectations for the team and making things happen."

Mosca will be joined in the move to Colorado Springs by his wife, Becky.