Villanova's Ryan Arcidiacono part of massive sporting family with ties to Rutgers, Penn State
Villanova point guard Ryan Arcidiacono is part of a huge family, many of whom have played Division 1 sports across the northeast.
Brendan Prunty/The Star-Ledger By Brendan Prunty/The Star-Ledger
February 18, 2013 at 7:46 AM
Like any big family, it’s all about the food.
Trays and trays of meatballs. Big pasta dishes. Bread, desserts, side dishes, the works. All of it homemade, of course — after all, these are the Philadelphia suburbs, where the days, events and celebrations were big deals. This is what Ryan Arcidiacono thinks about when you ask him about his family, because once he starts to go on and on about how many there are and what they all do, it’s easy to see why what’s on the table is the centerpiece of it all.
"My cousin starts for the Villanova lacrosse team as a freshman," Arcidiacono, of Neshaminy, Pa., said recently.
"My other girl cousin is going to UNC for lacrosse. My other guy cousin just committed to William & Mary for baseball. Then my other guy cousin just committed to Loyola of Maryland — and they just won the national championship for lacrosse. So yeah, everyone’s pretty much playing sports nonstop in my family."
And think about this: That’s only one side of his family.
The impact of the Sporting Arcidiacono Family (pronounced "Arch-ee-dee-ack-ah-no") is far-flung across the Northeast.
There’s Ryan — who is the starting point guard for Villanova and will be the focus of Rutgers when the teams play Monday at Villanova, but it certainly doesn’t end there.
His sister was a tri-captain for the Penn State women’s basketball team; his father, Joe, was a captain on the Wildcats football team from 1976-80 and a teammate of NFL Hall of Famer Howie Long.
It certainly doesn’t stop there.
While basketball has been the preferred game for Ryan and his siblings, his cousins got the football genes.
Joe’s brother Mark played football at Temple. Mark Jr. will be a redshirt senior offensive lineman for Penn State next season.
Two of Mark Jr.’s younger brothers will be wearing Rutgers colors tonight.
Brandon just finished his freshman season as a Scarlet Knights offensive lineman, while Nick — a tight end and linebacker — just officially committed to Rutgers on National Signing Day almost two weeks ago.
"It’s all I’ve ever known," Ryan said. "My family’s life has always been successful in sports. That’s all we ever knew — just sports and always playing each other in football and basketball because we live so close to each other.
"It’s was always constant. Playing against each other in sports. That’s pretty much all I did growing up."
It’s something that Villanova coach Jay Wright quickly got to know over the past two years as he began heavily recruiting Arcidiacono.
"The family is incredible," Wright said. "And I did not know it when we first started recruiting him. … They all come strong. The Arcidiaconos come strong. They’re a real tight-knit family. When we did our Midnight Madness, there was a ton of them here."
There are no competitions or debates about the best athlete in the family however — "I don’t think there is a best athlete," Ryan says. "Everyone is good at their own particular sport" — rather a healthy competition driven by what everyone else is doing.
When Ryan hit the tying shot last month to send Villanova’s eventual-upset win over Syracuse into overtime, some of the first text messages he got were from his family.
And when a cousin commits to play for a school — like when Nick committed to Rutgers — congratulations come pouring in from all corners of the Arcidiacono family.
"I definitely know when someone in the family did well in their sport," Ryan said. "Whether it’s in a game or if they committed somewhere, we all look out for each other."
Something which he expects will happen when they all get together after the school years are through. Over a big homemade meal, of course.
"Whether it’s basketball, baseball, football or whatever, it’s in our blood," Arcidiacono said.
Brendan Prunty: bprunty@starledger.com; Twitter: @BrendanPrunty
THE SPORTING ARCIDIACONOS
Villanova's freshman point guard Ryan Arcidiacono is one of a slew of his family members who have play Division 1 sports. From parents to sisters to cousins, many of them have played sports. Here's a look at a few of them:
FAMILY MEMBER || SCHOOL || SPORT || YEARS
Joe Arcidiacono || Villanova || Football || 1976-80
Ryan Arcidiacono || Villanova || M Basketball || 2013-Present
Nicole Arcidiacono || Penn State || W Basketball || 2006-10
Mark Arcidiacono, Sr. || Temple || Football || 1987-91
Mark Arcidiacono, Jr. || Penn State || Football || 2009-Present
Brandon Arcidiacono || Rutgers || Football || 2012-Present
Nick Arcidiacono || Rutgers || Football || 2013-Present
Brian Curran || Amherst || Football/Lacrosse || 1979-83
Jack Curran || Villanova || M Lacrosse || 2012-Present
Bridget Curran || North Carolina || W Lacrosse || 2014-Present
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