His dream has become a reality.

His hard work and dedication have produced fruits.

He has followed in the footsteps of a legendary father.

Stan Dakosty Jr. has ascended to the top of the collegiate football coaching ladder.

On Wednesday during a news conference in Hamilton, New York, the former Marian three-sport standout was named the interim head coach for the Colgate University football team.

Dakosty takes over the reins after serving as a long-time assistant coach at the FCS level program. He succeeds Dan Hunt, who has led the Raiders program since 2013. Hunt stepped down after unspecified violations were found by the university, according to the schools Vice President and Director of Athletics Dr. Nicki Moore and as reported on the Colgate football website.

Dakosty - a Colgate graduate who has worked as an associate head coach since 2017 and first joined the football staff in 2007 - will be interim head coach for the 2021 season, the school said.

“Several of the team members, after expressing their reactions (to Hunt’s departure), turned their attention to Dakosty and said ‘hey, you know the guys are going to want to play for you coach,” Moore said. “They expressed their strong confidence in him and their eagerness to help lead at this time.”

Colgate’s website had this to say:

“Stan Dakosty steps into the role as interim head coach carrying credentials that align with the storied history of the Colgate football program. The son of a legendary Pennsylvania high school football coach Stan, Sr., Dakosty has been a part of seven of Colgate’s 10 Patriot League titles – both as a player and a coach. His passion for coaching was even evident when he was a Colgate student. Serving as a student-coach under legendary Coach Dick Biddle, he helped the Raiders make the Patriot League’s only appearance in the NCAA FCS championship game back in 2003 before working his way up the coaching ladder to associate head coach beginning in 2017.”

The opportunity arrives

Now, after coaching 14 years at his alma mater, the opportunity has arrived for Dakosty to take charge of the program.

“The legacy of the program is more daunting than any opponent,” Dakosty said during his introduction. “This is something I have been preparing for a long time. My goals and vision for the program have developed over my 14 years at Colgate - we have built a program that will be in the hunt for a Patriot League title each year, and that will go toe-to-toe with anyone on a national level.

“Our players know that we don’t just talk about that; we’ve executed it and will take it to greater heights moving forward. Our players understand it is now their time to build a championship legacy.

“What separates Colgate Football from everyone else is that you can trace a line through multiple eras of teams and players that have all experienced championship football while building lifelong relationships. You come to Colgate to win championships, and the brotherhood built within our locker room stretches beyond your four years on the team.”

A football family

Dakosty’s father, Stan Sr., is the longtime successful head football coach at Marian Catholic High School, where he has become a Hall of Fame coach in Pennsylvania with more than 300 victories. The school football field is named in his honor.

“I’m very proud of where I come from,” Stan Jr. said. “I’m a coal region kid from Pennsylvania. I grew up in a football family. My dad is a Hall of Fame coach, and is the best coach I know. My mom has been the rock of our family through all the chaos of Friday nights and Saturday afternoons in the fall. My sister has always been my biggest fan and supporter. She is as strong and as tough and as smart as any person I know, and I’m lucky to have her in my corner.

“Football has given so many great things to my family. There is no doubt this opportunity means more to all of us than you can imagine.”

Dakosty and his wife, Jess, are the proud parents of three children: Stanley, Nora and Tommy. Dakosty coaches his sons’ baseball teams, while Jess has been an elementary teacher in the community and for a time, taught after school dance classes. Now serving as the Arts in Education and STEAM Coordinator for the Board of Cooperative Education, she continues to work in student development.

Like father, like son

Stan, Sr., couldn’t contain his pride two weekends ago when Stan, Jr. called to tell him that he was going to be named the next head coach at Colgate.

“We were out with some family members when my wife and I found out about Stan being named head coach,” Stan Sr. said. “My son said that we were sworn to secrecy. Here we are out with family members and I had to keep it quite. Boy, it was tough not to say anything.”

Stan Sr. says that he knew his son was destined to become a football coach. When Marian held camps and brought in coaches to speak, his son was always around even as early as 4-and 5-years-old.

“I can remember when Randy Edsel (the former Connecticut and Maryland head coach) was here at Marian giving a clinic and there’s young Stan following him around with two footballs under his arm,” the elder Stan said describing it as if it were yesterday.

Stan Sr. has always preached about how special Coal Region football is. It’s something he said his son preaches, too.

“He is so proud of where he comes from. He talks about Coal Region Football and brags about it. I guess I had some influence on him,” he said with a proud laughter in his voice.

“We’re his biggest fans,” continued Stan Sr.. “His sister may know as much football as anyone - and my wife and I are so happy that he has gotten this opportunity. We’re already planning to go to his first game at Boston College. We’re leaving right after our (Friday night) game with Minersville and we will drive part way and stop and get up the next morning and head to the game in Boston.”

There will also be plenty of Marian fans heading to see the Raiders under their new head coach.

“We are expecting to have a few bus loads go up to the opener,” Dakosty said.

All-America success

In addition to his recent role as associate head coach, Stan Jr. coached defensive backs at Colgate. Dakosty has had a defensive back make the All-Patriot League Team every year since 2014. Additionally, he has been on the sideline for every FCS Playoff victory the program has had during its time in the Patriot League.

Dakosty contributes to his student-athletes’ success off the field as well. He works with Colgate’s office of Career Services, and the football program’s Maroon Works career networking initiative to make professional development a main pillar of the program. And he recently helped create a Colgate Football Alumni of Color group - an important example of how Dakosty is in tune with the challenges and needs of his student-athletes - and is driven to pursue thoughtful strategies for effectively supporting them.

Prior to coaching, Dakosty played two years of varsity football for the Raiders, helping them to the 2002 Patriot League championship before suffering a career-ending injury. He stayed on the next season as a student-assistant coach as Colgate won 15 straight games and advanced all the way to the national championship game.

Dakosty graduated from Colgate in 2005 with a double-major in which he earned degrees in history and educational studies. His first coaching position was at Amherst, where he earned a master’s degree in education in addition to his social studies teacher’s certification from the University of Massachusetts in 2006.

Confident in Dakosty

Moore, the Vice President and Director of Athletics at Colgate, expressed enthusiasm and confidence in Dakosty’s leadership stating, “For the past three years, I have had the pleasure of getting to know Stan and to support his professional development. Stan has been preparing his entire life to lead as a head coach, and he is already demonstrating his readiness for this very opportunity.”

She went on to express what she has seen in the first few days of Dakosty’s tenure.

“Stan has expressed sincere care and concern for everyone who has a stake in this program’s success. He has entered into this role with his whole heart, working diligently to provide his staff, student-athletes, parents, and alumni with clarity about his vision and expectations.

“In three years, I don’t recall seeing Stan have a bad day. He is relentlessly optimistic, and brings enthusiasm and energy to everything he does. Several times in these first 10 days, Stan has been a couple of steps ahead of me - a testament to his strategic and organizational capabilities. He is a winner - a winner who understands that a compelling culture, right processes, essential resources, good and talented people, and hard work are essential to winning championships.

“I am excited to work with him in this new role, and to support his team as they seek to build upon the rich history of Colgate Football that Stan has helped create.”