Hall of Fame
Ralph Arietta spent 31 years as head coach for WCC. Coaching from 1967-1998 he earned the second most wins in National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) history with an overall record of 808-239, which gave him a 77% winning percentage.
Managing to always keep his team top 20 across the nation in the 70’s and 80’s, Arietta had eight 30 win seasons, with the best record being 36-2 during the 1983-84 season. Throughout his career Arietta brought home 12 Region XV Championships, and 22 Mid-Hudson Conference Championships. In 1984 his team attended the NJCAA Championships, held in Hutchinson, Kansas - placing third, this marked the highest finish in his career as he led his teams to 11 total National Tournament appearances.
That March, he earned 1000th win in program history (Westchester vs Eastern Arizona).
In 1984 he was also named NJCAA Basketball Coach of the Year, in 1988 he was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame, then in 1994 he was inducted into New York State Basketball Hall of Fame and Westchester County Sports Hall of Fame. Twelve years later Arietta was inducted into the Westchester Community College Sports Hall of Fame (2006).
He earned many accolades outside of WCC through his career, which included being named the head coach for the East team in 1979 and being assistant coach for the United States National Team in the World University Games held in Kobe, Japan.
He was President of the NJCAA Coaches Association for three years (1982-1985).
Arietta is still currently a Professor of Physical Education at WCC where he has been at the college for more than 50 years.
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