EAST STROUDSBURG - Former East Stroudsburg University men's basketball head coach Sal Mentesana, who led the Warriors to the 1989-90 PSAC championship, has been named to the coaching staff at Rutgers University, it was announced this week.

Mentesana, the PSAC Coach of the Year during the championship season, guided ESU to a 21-13 record and the only conference title and NCAA Division II playoff appearance in school history.

The 1989-90 team was inducted into the ESU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007 and played three straight overtime games during its postseason run. The Warriors won 103-102 at Slippery Rock in double overtime in the PSAC semifinals, beat Millersville 108-102 in overtime for the PSAC title, and once again knocked off Slippery Rock 99-98 in an extra session in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Mentesana coached ESU for nine seasons (1987-96) and had a 133-117 record, the second-most wins in school history. He left ESU to become the head coach at Lehigh University, where he coached from 1996-2002. Most recently, Mentesana was head coach of the Reading Railers of the Premier Basketball League in 2008, posting a 12-9 record and advancing to the PBL Eastern Division championship.

During a previous assistant coaching stint at Lehigh, Mentesana worked alongside current Rutgers head coach Fred Hill under head coach Brian Hill, Fred's uncle. Mentesana was also an assistant coach at William & Mary prior to coming to ESU, and began his coaching career at Notre Dame High School in his hometown of Easton, where he led the Crusaders to their first-ever District XI championship.