UPPER SAUCON TOWNSHIP -- A legendary former basketball coach from the University of Scranton was honored at a ceremony in the Lehigh Valley.
Bob Bessoir led the Royals for many years and most famously took the team to two national titles.
The room at the Saucon Valley Country Club near Bethlehem erupted into applause Monday night for the man known affectionately as Coach Bess.
"It was so wonderful to see so many of my players here today. Just so wonderful," Bessoir said.
Coach Bess played basketball for the University as a student before taking over as head coach from 1972 to 2001. During that time, he earned 554 victories, including two national championships in 1976 and 1983.
Many of those players were in the audience.
“It's absolutely heartwarming from a standpoint that Coach Bess was more than a coach. He's almost like a second father to me,” said Stephen Joseph, who played on the 1983 team. “I can give my whole life to the University of Scranton and Coach Bess was a huge part of that.”
“You know the jerseys change, the names come and go, but the success of the program, there's one guy that's been a constant at the top of that program and that's been Coach Bess,” said Joseph’s 1983 teammate Mark Hutchison.
At the ceremony, Coach Bess was given the 2016 Peter Carlesimo award from the University of Scranton, named after another former university basketball coach.
“We developed it to honor a person who has made major contributions to college athletics and Catholic education,” said Dave Martin, the university’s athletic director.
Coach Bess says the award is touching considering the late Carlesimo was Bessoir's coach.
“Pete and I were very good friends and he was a major man in my life,” said Bessoir.
And this event is almost like a second reunion for Coach Bess.
Earlier this year he and the 1976 champs were honored at the University.
“All the players from '76 came back, every one of them. What a wonderful situation to look back at something you did together and were successful,” said Bessoir.
Coach Bess may have stopped coaching, but he hasn't slowed down. He continued on as a professor of Physical Education at the U, stepping down recently. And yet in retirement, there's still a lot going on.
“Well, I have two boys who are 12 from my second marriage, and they keep me busy,” laughed Bessoir.
