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Gaudio's Bio in PDF Format 
Full Name: Dino Joseph Gaudio
Birth Date: March 30, 1957
Birth Place: Martins Ferry, Ohio
Wife: Maureen
Daughters: Kaylan (24) and Alyssa (17)
Alma Mater: Ohio University, 1981
Degree: Accounting and Secondary Education
Graduate School: Xavier University, 1991
Master's Degree: Secondary Education
Hometown: Yorkville, Ohio
High School: Buckeye South High School in Tiltonsville, Ohio
Coaching History
2007-Current: Head Coach, Wake Forest
2002-07: Associate Head Coach, Wake Forest
2001: Assistant Coach, Xavier
1998-2000: Head Coach, Loyola (Md.)
1994-97: Head Coach, Army
1988-93: Assistant Coach, Xavier
1985-87: Head Coach, Central Catholic High School in Wheeling, W.Va.
1981-84: Assistant Coach, Central Catholic High School in Wheeling, W.Va.
During the 2007-08 season, Wake Forest head basketball coach Dino Gaudio had perhaps the most difficult coaching job in college basketball.
While most coaches conducted daily interviews on Xs and Os, injury updates, and the strengths of upcoming opponents, the line of questions that Gaudio faced was entirely different. Rarely was he asked how well his freshmen were playing, or how he would try to defend against an ACC opponent. Everybody wanted to know the same thing.
How were the Deacons coping in the wake of Skip Prosser's death?
Prosser, Wake Forest's head coach for six years and Gaudio's best friend and mentor for 27 years, had died suddenly of a heart attack on July 26, 2007. Two weeks later, Gaudio was named the Demon Deacons' head coach.
For Gaudio, it was yet another step on a long journey in coaching basketball--a journey that started alongside Prosser in 1981 in Wheeling, West Virginia, when the recent Ohio University graduate became Prosser's assistant basketball coach at Central Catholic High.
The two formed a fast and successful partnership. Prosser and Gaudio spent four years together at Central Catholic, winning a state championship in 1982. After Prosser left to join Pete Gillen's coaching staff at Xavier in 1984, Gaudio was picked as Prosser's successor. Dino continued to build on Skip's success, making back-to-back trips to the state championship game and earning one title.
That Gaudio would once again be picked to succeed his mentor came as a surprise to no one.
"This is a very bittersweet moment for me," said Gaudio, who became Wake Forest's 20th basketball coach on August 8, 2007. "I love Wake Forest and I love the Atlantic Coast Conference. But I also love Skip Prosser and to become the head coach under these circumstances is not what I had envisioned. But I am also thrilled that I have been entrusted with the future of Deacon basketball by Ron Wellman."
Gaudio and the Deacons responded in fine fashion in 2007-08, pulling together a 17-13 record and along the way crafting victories over No. 2-ranked Duke and buzzer-beater wins against Virginia Tech and Miami. The 17 wins represented the fourth-highest win total ever by a Wake Forest first-year coach and the second-most in the ACC era. The win over Duke was Wake's first victory over a top five team since the 2004-05 season. The Deacons also improved in ACC play from 5-11 in 2006-07 to 7-9 last season.
In his first year at the helm, Gaudio placed an increased emphasis on defense. After finishing last in the conference in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense in 2006-07, the Deacons improved dramatically in those two categories under Gaudio's tutelage. Wake finished fourth in scoring defense and sixth in field goal percentage defense in 2007-08.
Gaudio's Deacons were also stingy on their home court, finishing the season 15-2 at Joel Coliseum. The mark was the fifth-best home record in the history of the venue. Wake Forest also went a perfect 9-0 in non-conference home games, including a win over NCAA Tournament team BYU.
Wake Forest accomplished all of this despite having the youngest lineup in the ACC. Gaudio's starting five regularly consisted of three sophomores and two freshmen. The Deacons had a combined 138 starts by underclassmen, the highest such total in the league.
Rivals.com named Gaudio as its 2008 ACC Coach of the Year.
A veteran of 27 years of coaching, Gaudio joined the Wake Forest staff as an assistant coach in 2002 when Prosser was named head coach. After three seasons, Gaudio was promoted to associate head coach. During his six years on the Deacon staff, Wake Forest compiled a record of 126-68 and reached postseason play five times including four straight NCAA Tournaments from 2002-05.
"Dino has proven himself to be an outstanding recruiter, tactician and overall coach," said Wake Forest athletic director Ron Wellman at the announcement of Gaudio's hiring. "His track record of developing student-athletes for success, both on the court and in life, is remarkable. I am confident that Dino will continue to move our basketball program forward just as Skip Prosser did.
"The principles upon which Skip Prosser built this program, with an emphasis on academics, basketball and character, are the same principles that Dino embraces."
Gaudio coached alongside Prosser for 17 years including 13 years at the college level. The pair combined for a 283-125 record in college, a winning percentage of .694.
In 20 years at the college level, including seven seasons as a head coach, Gaudio has helped his teams compile a 351-249 record, a .585 winning percentage. Eleven of his 20 collegiate teams have reached the postseason including 10 NCAA Tournament berths and a pair of Sweet 16 appearances.
Gaudio's seven years of head coaching experience at the Division I level include four seasons at Army from 1993-97 and three years at Loyola (Md.) College from 1997-2000.
At Army, Gaudio inherited a team that had gone just 4-22 the year before his arrival. In his second year, Gaudio led the Black Knights to a 12-16 record. His 19 wins in his first two seasons were the most by a West Point coach in more than a decade. Gaudio helped the Knights win the only two Patriot League Tournament games in the school's 17 years of membership in the conference.
While at West Point, Gaudio coached Mark Lueking who concluded his career as Army's third all-time leading scorer with 2,032 points.
Gaudio followed in the footsteps of two legendary coaches, Bob Knight and Mike Krzyzewski, at Army. For a military academy competing as a mid-major in the NCAA, success is often hard to come by. Gaudio's final year at West Point resulted in a 10-16 record. Knight's ledger in his final season was 11-13; Krzyzewski was 9-17.
Gaudio was named the head coach at Loyola in 1997 and posted 12 wins in his first year and 13 in his second. The 25 victories in his first two campaigns marked the best start by any Greyhound coach over the previous 26 seasons. Gaudio's top player at Loyola, Jason Rowe, is the fifth-leading scorer in school history with 1,678 points.
Gaudio broke into the college ranks at Xavier in 1987-88, serving as an assistant coach alongside Prosser and under the tutelage of Pete Gillen. In six years, the two helped the Musketeers to a 136-49 record, five 20-win seasons and five NCAA Tournament berths. Xavier won four Midwestern Collegiate Conference regular season crowns, three MCC Tournament titles and made the school's first trip to the NCAA "Sweet 16" in 1990.
While at Xavier, Gaudio helped develop many players for the NBA including Tyrone Hill (Miami), Derek Strong (Orlando), Aaron Williams (New Jersey), Brian Grant (LA Lakers) and David West (New Orleans).
At Wake Forest, Gaudio has worked with NBA stars Chris Paul (New Orleans), Darius Songalia (Washington) and Josh Howard (Dallas).
Gaudio left Xavier following the 1992-93 season for Army. He later returned to Xavier as an assistant under Prosser in 2000-01.
Gaudio's association with Prosser began in 1981 when he served as an assistant coach at Central Catholic High School in Wheeling (W.V.) while Prosser was head coach. The two combined to lead Central Catholic to the 1982 state championship. Gaudio was Prosser's assistant for four seasons until Prosser left to become an assistant coach at Xavier in 1985. Gaudio was then promoted to head coach at Central Catholic.
Gaudio guided the Maroon Knights to the state championship game in his first season. The next year, Gaudio directed Central Catholic to a 22-4 record and the state AA championship.
A 1981 graduate of Ohio University, Gaudio earned double bachelor's degrees in accounting and secondary education. He received a master's degree in secondary education from Xavier in 1991.
Gaudio, a native of Yorkville, Ohio, and his wife, Maureen, are the parents of two daughters, Kaylan (24) and Alyssa (17). Kaylan is a 2006 graduate of Wake Forest, where she was a member of the dance team, and is now attending law school at Elon University. Alyssa is a senior at Bishop McGuinness High School in Kernersville.
