West Liberty University Athletics

    Pete Tuccio was a record-setting running back with some of the greatest football teams in West Liberty history. A four-year starter on Coach Joe Bartell's legendary gridiron powerhouses of the late 1940s, the Hilltoppers won back-to-back postseason bowl games and were an eye-popping 34-1-3 during Tuccio's varsity career.
    Tuccio's senior season was an especially memorable one as West Liberty rolled to a 9-0-0 record capped by a thrilling 28-26 victory against Appalachian State in the Pythian Bowl. A first-team All-WVIAC selection at running back, Tuccio also garnered honorable mention NAIA All-America honors. His school single-game record of 296 rushing yards remained on the books for more than a half-century.
    After graduation, Tuccio headed west to earn a master's degree from Baylor University before beginning a long and successful teaching and coaching career out west. Tuccio was honored as the 1971 Arizona High School Football Coach of the Year and was later inducted into the Phoenix (Ariz.) Union High School District Hall of Fame.