John Lusardi is 2021 Zunic Award Recipient
9/8/2021 3:46:00 PM | Football
John Lusardi '92 is the 2021 recipient of the Zunic Award and will be honored during Syracuse's game against Rutgers on Saturday.
Presented by the Syracuse Football Club, the Zunic Award was created in 2001 to honor Mike and Judy Zunic, who died tragically on July 18, 1989 when a United Airlines plane crashed in Sioux City, Iowa. The pilot, anticipating landing difficulties, requested if some strong passengers would volunteer to give up their seats and sit at the exit doors to assist passengers in the event of an emergency. Mike and Judy gave up their seats in first class to sit at one of the doors. They both died in the crash and those in the Zunics' original seats survived.
Mike Zunic was a four-year starter at linebacker and earned a bachelor's degree (1981) and master's degree (1982) in speech communication from Syracuse.
Lusardi came to Syracuse as a walk-on after breaking his ankle during his senior year of high school, limiting his scholarship opportunities. After a strong freshman campaign, he earned a scholarship and became a key player on the SU defense for the 1991 'Cuse team that went to the 1992 Hall of Fame Bowl, where they defeated Ohio State 24-17 and finished the year 10-2.
Lusardi eventually went on to earn an NFL tryout with the New York Jets, before returning to his hometown of Springfield, N.J. to help his father run their family business – Liberty United Van Lines.
In 1996, Lusardi had to overcome adversity when the company building and warehouse was destroyed in a fire. Lusardi wouldn't let the obstacles put him out of business or leave his employees without jobs, he and his family built the company better and turned it into an industry leader.
In 2004, he and his family were challenged again, when his wife, Anie, was diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer. After a four-year fight, Annie passed away. John continued to press forward and raised two children by himself. His daughter, Sophia, is a current student at Syracuse, while is son, Joseph, plays for Rutgers.
John Lusardi joins a tremendous list of past honorees:
Zunic Award Recipients
2001: Mr. and Mrs. Zunic, Frank Maloney, Gene Grabosky '60 (posthumous)
2002: Pat '88 and Kari Kelly, Roberta DeLeone
2003: Jim DaRin '77
2004: Joshua Frase
2005: Jim Rooney
2006: Rockette Pirro Brunetti, Horace Landry
2007: Sylvia Mackey, Chris Ingram '89 (posthumous)
2008: Robin Griffin '72, Carlmon Jones, Ron Page '74
2009: Bill Coghill '72, Norm Mordue '66
2010: Jim Jerome '76
2011: John Lally '82
2012: Tim Byrne '87 (posthumous)
2013: Pat Killorin '66
2014: Dick Beyer '53
2015: Frank Conover '91
2016: Tom Hermanowski '70
2017: J. Michael Anderson '77
2018: Rob Long '12, G'14
2019: Dan Conley '95
2021: John Lusardi ' 92
Visit cuse.com/tickets or call 888-DOME-TIX to purchase your 2021 'Cuse football tickets. Fans can now purchase season tickets, partial plans and individual game tickets, however the best value for 'Cuse fans to watch the Orange this season remains purchasing a season ticket. For less than $20 per game, fans can get access to every game of the home slate. Click here for Syracuse's current public health guidelines and expectations for attendees.
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Presented by the Syracuse Football Club, the Zunic Award was created in 2001 to honor Mike and Judy Zunic, who died tragically on July 18, 1989 when a United Airlines plane crashed in Sioux City, Iowa. The pilot, anticipating landing difficulties, requested if some strong passengers would volunteer to give up their seats and sit at the exit doors to assist passengers in the event of an emergency. Mike and Judy gave up their seats in first class to sit at one of the doors. They both died in the crash and those in the Zunics' original seats survived.
Mike Zunic was a four-year starter at linebacker and earned a bachelor's degree (1981) and master's degree (1982) in speech communication from Syracuse.
Lusardi came to Syracuse as a walk-on after breaking his ankle during his senior year of high school, limiting his scholarship opportunities. After a strong freshman campaign, he earned a scholarship and became a key player on the SU defense for the 1991 'Cuse team that went to the 1992 Hall of Fame Bowl, where they defeated Ohio State 24-17 and finished the year 10-2.
Lusardi eventually went on to earn an NFL tryout with the New York Jets, before returning to his hometown of Springfield, N.J. to help his father run their family business – Liberty United Van Lines.
In 1996, Lusardi had to overcome adversity when the company building and warehouse was destroyed in a fire. Lusardi wouldn't let the obstacles put him out of business or leave his employees without jobs, he and his family built the company better and turned it into an industry leader.
In 2004, he and his family were challenged again, when his wife, Anie, was diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer. After a four-year fight, Annie passed away. John continued to press forward and raised two children by himself. His daughter, Sophia, is a current student at Syracuse, while is son, Joseph, plays for Rutgers.
John Lusardi joins a tremendous list of past honorees:
Zunic Award Recipients
2001: Mr. and Mrs. Zunic, Frank Maloney, Gene Grabosky '60 (posthumous)
2002: Pat '88 and Kari Kelly, Roberta DeLeone
2003: Jim DaRin '77
2004: Joshua Frase
2005: Jim Rooney
2006: Rockette Pirro Brunetti, Horace Landry
2007: Sylvia Mackey, Chris Ingram '89 (posthumous)
2008: Robin Griffin '72, Carlmon Jones, Ron Page '74
2009: Bill Coghill '72, Norm Mordue '66
2010: Jim Jerome '76
2011: John Lally '82
2012: Tim Byrne '87 (posthumous)
2013: Pat Killorin '66
2014: Dick Beyer '53
2015: Frank Conover '91
2016: Tom Hermanowski '70
2017: J. Michael Anderson '77
2018: Rob Long '12, G'14
2019: Dan Conley '95
2021: John Lusardi ' 92
Visit cuse.com/tickets or call 888-DOME-TIX to purchase your 2021 'Cuse football tickets. Fans can now purchase season tickets, partial plans and individual game tickets, however the best value for 'Cuse fans to watch the Orange this season remains purchasing a season ticket. For less than $20 per game, fans can get access to every game of the home slate. Click here for Syracuse's current public health guidelines and expectations for attendees.
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