Notable Alumni of East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania

East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (ESU), a public university situated in the Pocono Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania, has a rich history dating back to its founding in 1893. Originally established as a private preparatory school for teachers, it has evolved into a comprehensive university offering 68 undergraduate major programs with 24 available concentrations. Over the years, ESU has produced a diverse array of accomplished individuals who have made significant contributions in various fields. This article highlights some of the university's most notable alumni.

Alumni Hall of Fame

ESU recognizes outstanding alumni through its Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame class will be inducted in a ceremony in the Keystone Room, located in ESU’s Center for Hospitality Management in the center of campus. The inductees will also be recognized during the Warriors’ home football game. Recent inductees include:

Doug Mummaw

Mummaw was a two-year starter at quarterback, an All-PSAC East first team selection as a junior, and team MVP as a senior. He guided the Warriors to a pair of winning seasons, going 5-4 in 1970 and 6-3 in 1971. As a backup to Hall of Famer Bill Dukett ’70 in 1969, Mummaw passed for 3,059 yards and 31 touchdowns over his two years. He threw for 1,671 yards and tied Dukett’s record with 19 touchdown passes in his first season as a starter, including a record five touchdowns against Kutztown. As a senior, he threw for 1,388 yards and 12 touchdowns while also scoring four on the ground. Mummaw is entering his 15th year as Athletic Director at his alma mater, Hempfield High School, which has won 16 state championships during his tenure, including boys and girls volleyball, boys and girls soccer and track and field. He began his career at Hempfield as an athletic trainer and Health and Physical Education teacher in 1988. He has also taught in the Blue Mountain School District and Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, and was a graduate assistant coach for the Warriors in 1973 and 1974. He resides in Lancaster with his wife, Sandy Evans Mummaw ’77 M’83.

Joseph Vargo

Vargo was a four-time NCAA Division I qualifier on the wrestling mat for ESU. He was a four-time EIWA placewinner, a three-time finalist and the 1979 EIWA champion at 167 pounds. He graduated with the school record of 104 wins, currently third all-time and one of three grapplers with 100 career wins for the Warriors. He is fourth on ESU’s career dual wins list with 57, compiling an overall record of 104-22-2 (.820) and a dual record of 57-7-1 (.885) over four seasons. Army as a telecommunications specialist, gaining an honorable discharge in 1985. He currently works in the information technology field for the federal government in Washington, D.C. Vargo resides in Stafford, Virginia with his wife Amy and children Joseph and Emma. Vargo was one of three collegiate athletes in his family.

Traci Strunk

Strunk was selected to the College Field Hockey Coaches’ Association Division II All-America first team at goalkeeper as a senior in 1993 as part of her career as a two-sport athlete. In field hockey, Strunk was the backstop for teams that won 31 games over three seasons, advanced to the PSAC Tournament in 1991 and took the 1993 ECAC championship. She ranks second at ESU in career saves (599) and fourth in shutouts (15) and minutes played (4159). She set a school record with 224 saves as a sophomore, which currently ranks second overall, and was named to the All-PSAC first team. She allowed just 1.15 goals per game and had seven shutouts and a .889 save percentage in her All-America season in 1993. After graduation, Strunk has held several coaching positions, including head field hockey and lacrosse coach at Montclair State from 1998-01, head lacrosse coach at LIU-Brooklyn from 2002-04, and head lacrosse coach and assistant field hockey coach at Bloomsburg from 2004-06. She completed her Master’s degree in Health and Physical Education from ESU in 2002, and has also worked as a personal trainer and sports performance coach in Martinsville, New Jersey, and Villanova and Hazleton, Pennsylvania.

Read also: Affording ECU

Bryan Nagle

Nagle, a two-time PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year, was named to the Associated Press Little All-America first team and Daktronics All-America first team as a senior in 2000. Nagle led ESU in tackles each year from 1997 to 2000 and ranks second in school history with 477 career tackles while adding 47 tackles for a loss and 16.5 sacks. He had 90 tackles as a freshman, 139 (12 for loss) as a sophomore, 123 (13 for loss) as a junior and 125 (16 for a loss, 8 sacks) as a senior. His 139 tackles as a sophomore in 1998 are third-most in school history. Nagle began his professional career in camp with the Washington Redskins prior to the 2001 season, then played seven years in the Arena Football League, beginning with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers in AF2. A graduate of Pleasant Valley High School, Nagle coached the Bears’ linebackers for four seasons (2009-12) under head coach Jimmy Terwilliger ’07. He coached an All-MVC linebacker during each season, including a first team All-State selection in 2012.

Taneshia Birmingham

Birmingham was named ESU’s Female Senior Athlete of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2001, graduating with 10 school records - five which still stand more than a decade later. Her career was highlighted by a trip to the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships as a junior, becoming the first ESU men’s or women’s sprinter to compete at the NCAA Championships. She was a three-time ECAC indoor champion, winning the 55m dash as a senior and 200m as a junior and senior. She also won three ECAC indoor relay titles, capturing the 4x200m as a freshman and senior and the 4x400m as a senior. At the PSAC outdoor championships, she helped the Warriors to titles in the 4x400m relay as a junior and senior. She set school records in the indoor 55m, 60m, 200m, 4×200 and 4×400 relays, and outdoor records in the 100m, 200m, 4×100, 4×200 and 4×400 relays. A native of Walden, N.Y. and a graduate of Valley Central High School, Birmingham has taught English for 10 years, beginning at Monroe Township (N.J.) for two years and continuing at Henry E. Lackey High School in Charles County (Md.) for the last eight years. She was recently promoted to Pupil Personnel Worker at Lackey High School. Birmingham was also a track and field coach for the first four years of her teaching career.

Kevon Stewart

Stewart was a two-time NSCAA All-America at center back for the Warriors, earning first team honors as a senior in 2002 and second team status as a junior. He was a four-time All-PSAC first team selection and a four-time All-Region selection, including three times on the first team. Stewart led the Warriors to four straight PSAC championships from 1999-02, part of a stretch of seven straight titles from 1997 to 2003 under Hall of Fame head coach Jerry Sheska ’68 M’81. He was named MVP of the 1999 PSAC championship game as a freshman, a 3-0 win over Lock Haven. He helped ESU reach the NCAA Division II Final Four as a sophomore, earning a spot on the All-Tournament team, and the national quarterfinals as a senior to highlight four NCAA Tournament appearances. Stewart, affectionately known as “Dunga”, is a native of St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, where he started scholastically at Munro College before arriving at ESU. He graduated from ESU in 2003 with degrees in Economics and Business Management, and obtained his MBA in Finance from Nyack College in 2007.

Notable Alumni in Athletics

East Stroudsburg University has a strong tradition in athletics, and several alumni have achieved prominence in the world of sports.

Matt Riddle

Matthew Fredrick Riddle is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he is the reigning MLW World Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He also makes appearances on the independent circuit. He is best known for his tenures in the UFC and WWE.

Read also: Your Guide to ETSU Academics

James Franklin

James Geoffrey Franklin is an American football coach and former player. Franklin has served as the head football coach at Pennsylvania State University since 2014 and served in the same position at Vanderbilt University from 2011 to 2013.

Vic Fangio

Victor John Fangio is an American professional football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). Fangio also served as the head coach of the Denver Broncos. A 41-year coaching veteran with 33 seasons of NFL experience, Fangio was a defensive coordinator for 20 of the last 24 seasons at the NFL or college level before becoming the Broncos' head coach. He served as the Chicago Bears' defensive coordinator after leading the defenses for the San Francisco 49ers, Stanford University, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts and Carolina Panthers.

Charlie Brenneman

Charlie Brenneman is a mixed martial artist.

Bob Rigby

Bob Rigby is an American retired soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. He played twelve seasons in the North American Soccer League, three in the Major Indoor Soccer League, one in the Western Soccer Alliance and earned six caps with the United States men's national soccer team. Rigby was the color commentator with the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer.

Ralph Mitterling

Ralph "Sarge" Mitterling was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. He played Major League Baseball as an outfielder for the Philadelphia Athletics during the 1916 season. He served in the US Army during World War I. Mitterling was the head football coach at Ursinus College from 1919 to 1920, at Susquehanna University in 1923, and at East Stroudsburg State Teachers College-now East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania-from 1926 to 1935, compiling a career college football record of 47-52-7. He was also the head basketball coach at Ursinus from 1919 to 1921, tallying a mark of 17-28, and the head baseball coach at the University of Pittsburgh from 1939 to 1954, amassing a record of 89-106-1. Mitterling died on January 22, 1956, at Veteran's Hospital in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Notable Alumni in Politics and Government

ESU alumni have also made their mark in the realm of politics and government.

Jim Saxton

Hugh James Saxton is an American politician from New Jersey. A member of the Republican Party, he represented parts of Burlington, Ocean, and Camden counties in the United States House of Representatives from 1984 to 2009. Before entering Congress, he served in the New Jersey Senate and the New Jersey General Assembly.

Kristin Corrado

Kristin M. Corrado is an American Republican Party politician who has represented the 40th Legislative District in the New Jersey Senate since she was sworn into office on October 5, 2017. Before her appointment to the senate, she served as Passaic County Clerk for seven years.

Christine Donohue

Christine L. Donohue is a justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Prior to her election to that court in 2015, she was an elected member of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, a seat she had held since 2008. She had also performed nearly three decades of service as a trial lawyer and litigator in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

Edwin Erickson

Edwin B. Erickson III was an American politician. He served multiple terms on the Council of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, including two years as its chairman. He was later elected to the Pennsylvania Senate, representing the 26th District from 2001 to 2015. The district included most of Delaware County and parts of Chester County.

Eunice S. Reddick

She was the United States ambassador to Togo from 2008 to 2011.

Notable Alumni in Arts and Entertainment

ESU has also produced notable figures in the arts and entertainment industry.

John Di Domenico

John Di Domenico is an American actor, comedian and writer, best known for his award-winning impersonation of Donald Trump. He has portrayed Donald Trump many times on television, movies and web series, which includes Meet the Spartans, Conan, Red Eye, You Got Trumped and others.

Jordan White

Jordan White is an American rock musician and singer-songwriter.

tags: #east #stroudsburg #university #of #pennsylvania #notable