After 23 years of service, Tony Rainone retires as Coordinator of Student-Athlete Support

Tim Yean

Sports Editor

“You’re always apprehensive when you make these moves,” Rainone told me when asked how he felt on making the decision to retire. “You look forward to it, you hope that you made the right decision. I’ll miss the people I work with. I’ll miss the student-athletes.”

Tony Rainone in his office. (photo cred. Tim Yean)

After 23 years with RIC’s Student-Athlete Success Center and his eighth year serving as the Coordinator of Student-Athlete Support, Tony Rainone is calling it a career with the Anchormen, stepping down and retiring from his post at the end of the 2026 spring semester.

Rainone has a multitude of accolades to his name, and you’ll find some version of “Anthony Rainone” on four hall of fame lists (RIC Athletic, Central Falls High School, Rhode Island High School Football Coaches and Providence Gridiron Club) and many coach of the year awards from his time with Central Falls High School football.

Even with the awards, speaking to him, you’ll find him as one of, if not the, humblest person on campus. He’s perhaps too humble with the amount of work and effort he has provided not only to campus but across the state over his career as a baseball player, coach and administrator. 

Before a RIC men’s basketball game against Plymouth State University on Jan. 24, the athletics department hosted Tony Rainone Day, a ceremony to celebrate Rainone and his accomplishments. Rainone didn’t exactly feel that the career he had was really worth much of a dedication to.

Rainone (middle) with state representative Chris Paplauskas (right). (photo cred. Tim Yean)

“I was very uncomfortable with it,” Rainone admitted. “There are many people [I’ve met] and have done a lot more than I ever have. I guess as you get older, people feel that you’ve been around for so long, they need to do something.”

Every step of Rainone’s career has provided him with key lessons for the future, starting with his collegiate baseball career. He stepped foot on campus over 50 years ago, playing as a catcher and outfielder for the Anchormen. In his final year playing in 1973, Rainone was named team captain.

“It prepared me a lot,” Rainone recalled. “I wanted to go into coaching and I got to work with some very good coaches in Dave Stenhouse, who has since passed, former major leaguer. I learned quite a lot about that, but not just about baseball. How to handle athletes, dealing with problems; he was a great role model.”

Rainone jumped into coaching after graduating, serving as an assistant coach for the Central Falls High School football team from 1974 to 1978. He was promoted to head coach the following season, a tenure that spanned three decades from 1979 to 1997. The Warriors seized two division titles and saw two Rhode Island Interscholastic League Super Bowl appearances. He credits Mike Goodson, the head baseball coach at Central Falls for almost 50 years and former players returning to help coach the team, for helping to transform the program. 

Rainone’s family also supported him throughout the entire way as a coach and later on in his future duties. His late wife Kathleen, daughter Sarah and son Matthew were all involved with the football program.

“A former football coach told me it’s important to get your family involved when you’re coaching because you’re away so much,” Rainone said. “I took that upon myself to pick up on that. My daughter used to do the statistics for football. My son was a water boy who later played football in college. And my wife was always there for us. She was just a role model and she was very much a sports fan.”

Following the 1997 season, Rainone stepped down from his head coaching duties and accepted a larger role: athletic director for Central Falls High School. With a supportive school administration understanding the importance of athletics, Rainone was motivated to take on the new position.

“They allowed us to add track programs, cross country programs, to middle schools, so it’s something that, like football, we were able to pick up where it was and go to the next level with it,” Rainone explained. “So that was always a plus in terms of going forward.”

The experience interacting with high school student-athletes as a coach and administrator gave Rainone future insight into his role in helping student-athletes at the college level.

“Of course, you get to the next level, there are other issues you have to deal with,” Rainone highlighted. “Registrations, for example, for our student athletes, making sure they’re going in the right direction academically.”

After six years leading the way for Central Falls athletics, Rainone stepped down from his position and moved a step closer to where he is today, becoming a proctor at RIC’s Student-Athlete Success Center in 2003. G. Gail Davis ‘60 and the late Dolores Passarelli led the center prior to Rainone and played as strong role models for him.

“From Gail, I learned that these are the rules, you need to follow them and then we go beyond that,” Rainone exclaimed. “From Dolores, I learned these are the rules, maybe I can bend them a little bit to make sure the student athletes are getting what they need. They both had so many good things in terms of dealing with student-athletes, Gail being a forerunner of female athletics in the state. She was a great model. And Dolores, who worked there forever, was a great role model [for] taking care of student athletes.”

Much has changed on campus for athletics ever since Rainone stepped on campus for the first time as a member of the baseball team. A lot of the resources available now didn’t exist when he was a college student. There was no success center. The baseball field from his playing days had no dugout or fencing to barricade the playing area, just two benches with no cover for the teams to rest. Facilities as a whole have come a long way since the seventies.

Rainone’s personality reflects the philosophy he takes on when it comes to helping the student-athletes on campus be their best selves academically. It’s also one message he wants to leave campus with when he retires this spring.

“You’re here for the student-athletes, you’re not here for yourself,” Rainone said. “If we can get to that level about being good to other people and asking for help when you need it and giving help when you can give it to someone, I think those are important things that my philosophy has built along the way.”

Even when he leaves campus, his name will still be around. RIC’s baseball team, starting this season, will name its annual team most valuable player award after Rainone.

Tony Rainone’s story as a whole is one that should be modeled, and a great story in general. But tell him that, and he’ll for sure play it down.

“Well, that’ll be debatable, too,” Rainone closed, trailing off with a small laugh.