COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's University's legendary football coach John Gagliardi will be inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame Saturday, Nov. 1. The awards banquet begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center in Schaumburg, Ill., just outside of Chicago.

Other 2008 inductees include professional golfer Phil Mickelson and former major league baseball pitcher John Franco. Former Los Angeles Dodgers' manager Tommy Lasorda will serve as the master of ceremonies.

Gagliardi broke former Grambling State head coach Eddie Robinson's NCAA record for the most games coached (588) Sept. 20 against Concordia College-Moorhead in Collegeville. Gagliardi's 60 years of collegiate coaching is the most in college football history, surpassing the prior record of 57 years held by Stagg.

The first active head coach to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (Class of 2006) and the 2007 Liberty Mutual Division III Coach of the Year, Gagliardi (Guh-lahr-dee) currently owns a 459-124-11 (.782) career record and a 435-118-10 (.782) record at SJU. Gagliardi tied the all-time collegiate win record, held by Robinson, on Nov. 1, 2003, and broke the all-time record Nov. 8, 2003, on the way to a perfect 14-0 season and an NCAA Division III championship.

While at Saint John's, Gagliardi has coached four national championship teams (1963, 1965, 1976 and 2003) and made the 2000 national title game. His also reached the national semifinals in 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 2001 and 2002. As a collegiate coach, Gagliardi's teams have won 28 conference titles, including 2005 and 2006, and have appeared in 56 post-season games. In the past 41 years, SJU has been nationally ranked 40 times, and it owns a 39-17 postseason record. In 1993, SJU averaged 61.5 points per game, setting a record that may never be broken.

In addition to his various head coaching duties, Gagliardi has also been athletic director at both Carroll College (1949-53) and Saint John's (1976-94). In June 2006, Gagliardi was inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame.

In 1993, Josten's and the SJU J-Club unveiled the Gagliardi Trophy that goes to the nation's outstanding Division III player.

SJU (6-2, 4-2 MIAC) returns to action in two weeks as it plays host to Augsburg on Saturday, Nov. 8. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville. The Johnnies are 60-7-2 all-time against the Auggies, including a 49-4-1 record under the direction of Gagliardi. The last time Augsburg upended the Johnnies was Sept. 20, 1997, in Minneapolis. SJU has outscored Augsburg 476-86 since.