Philadelphia, PA- Philadelphia University Athletic Director Tom Shirley has announced the hiring of John DiMeglio as Interim Head Baseball Coach, effective immediately.  DiMeglio was formerly the assistant coach under Mark Jackson at PhilaU.  Jackson resigned in December to take the head coaching job at West Chester University.

"Coaching is a great privilege and I'm honored to have this opportunity," said DiMeglio. "I'm looking forward to working with our players and support staff to continue growing the baseball program at PhilaU."

DiMeglio has several years of baseball coaching experience under his belt, most recently serving as the pitching coach for the Centenary College baseball program during the 2008-09 season. At Centenary, DiMeglio served primarily as the pitching coach where his team finished the season with the second best earned run average (ERA) in the conference.  He also helped to develop two NJCBA D III All-Rookie pitchers. 

He has worked at various local and national baseball camps as an instructor, including the Vanderbilt Baseball Prospect Camp (TN) and the US Naval Academy's Baseball & Leadership Camp (MD).  He has also served as a coach and instructor at the Jack Cust Baseball Academy (NJ).

He was also a volunteer assistant coach at Burlington County College (BCC) where he worked with the pitching staff and the Bishop Eustace High School American Legion team in Pennsauken, NJ.

As a player, DiMeglio was a pitcher at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA.  He graduated from UMW in 1995 with a B. A. in American studies.  After college he continued playing baseball in semi-pro leagues around the Philadelphia area, and then later in New York City where his corporate career had taken him. 

He inherits a Ram team that went 17-27 overall last season and 14-13 in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.  The season kicks off at the Northeast Baseball Challenge in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on Friday (2/26/10) vs. Felician College at 10 a.m.