Mike Vespoli

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Mike Vespoli, (61) years old, is founder and chief executive officer of Vespoli USA, Inc., a boat manufacturer in New Haven, Conn., that makes shells for rowing teams and individual rowers. Mr. Vespoli's career in rowing started in 1964 when he joined the Georgetown University crew as a walk-on. He went on to row with teams that won several national championships, placed in the 1972 Munich Olympics and, in 1974, was part of a team of eight American rowers that won a World Championship in Switzerland. He later coached universities and was a sculling coach for the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, which the U.S. boycotted.

As boat technology developed rapidly in England with the advent of carbon fiber and other materials used by the aerospace industry, Mr. Vespoli started his company with the help of his retired machinist father in 1980 in the U.S. His wife Nancy Vespoli, who was on the women's crew at Dartmouth College, a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic rowing crew and has a master's degree in chemical engineering from M.I.T., is also involved in the business. The company has become a well-known boat maker with models that have won many elite races. ^[1]

Vespoli's Coaching Career:

-1968 to 1972, St. Joseph Prep School
-1972 to 1974, University of Massachusetts
-1974 to 1977, Wichita State University
-1977 to 1980, Yale University.

Wichita State University
Vespoli was given the goal to develop a nationally recognized rowing program in three years.
-1976, Novice Men's 8, Wichita State Univ. defeats Yale Univ.
-1976, Novice HW Men's 8, Wichita State Univ. loses to the Univ. of Wisconsin by 1 second
-1977, Novice HW Men's 8, Wichita State Univ. loses to the Univ. of Wisconsin by 1 second

Yale University
The four years (1981 - 1984) following Mike Vespoli's departure as Yale's Frosh Men's Heavyweight Coach, Yale's Varsity Men's Heavyweight Crew defeats Harvard in the annual Harvard-Yale race. Yale had not beaten Harvard in 18 years.

U.S. National Team Coach:
-1979, Head Coach, U.S. Lightweight Men; Sılver Medal
-1980, Assistant Coach, U.S. Heavyweight Men Scullıng Coach. Dıd not compete due to US BOYCOTT.

Mike Vespoli's career has been closely associated with Coach Tony Johnson:
-Johnson coached Vespoli at Georgetown form 1967 to 1969
-Johnson was the assistant coach and Vespoli an oarsman on the 1972 U.S. Olympic Crew
-Johnson recommended Vespoli for the Wichita State University position
-Johnson hired Vespoli as Yale's Frosh Men's Coach in 1977
-Vespoli is Committee Co-Chair of the Georgetown University Boathouse project where Johnson has coached since 1989.

Mike Vespoli is a former member of the U.S. Olympic Committee for Men's Rowing, a consultant to the President's Commission on Olympic Sports and was an NBC commentator for rowing in Barcelona in 1992.

Mike Vespoli and Nancy Vespoli established the Vespoli Family Crew Scholarship at Georgetown University in 2003. The scholarship provides financial aid to one or more intercollegiate rowers who demonstrate financial need. Mike and Nancy have also donated money in support of the Georgetown University Boathouse project.

In 2000, Mike Vespoli was honored with the "Power Ten" award. The award is given to those who are committed to supporting the sport of rowing, both nationally and internationally.

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