Wear it with Pride: The legacy of Nick Colleluori

Seth Tierney was hired as head coach of the Hofstra men’s lacrosse team in 2006 and was prepared to build a championship program. However, he wasn’t prepared to help the program heal.

Just five months into his tenure, before he could lead Hofstra from the
sidelines, Tierney had to lead his team out of the darkness after his player Nick Colleluori passed away following a 14-month battle with diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the age of 21.

Standing in front of a packed church in Nick’s hometown of Ridley, Pennsylvania, Tierney, who had only known Nick for a short time, delivered a eulogy to an audience that had known him his entire life.

“Why Nick?” asked Tierney. “Why did God recruit him? The only logical answer is that he is putting together a team of honest, courageous, unselfish and relentless players, and as we all know, Nick fit that build to a tee. The one thing that God will be pleasantly surprised with is that he isn’t just getting a player because he just landed the captain of his team.”

Before stepping down from the altar, Tierney promised those in attendance that grim day that their son, brother, friend and teammate would not be forgotten.

“The Hofstra Pride will be relentless in everything they do this year, and forever in honor of Nick,” Tierney said. 

In the immediate aftermath, Tierney and the Hofstra lacrosse program gave the remainder of Nick’s scholarship to his younger brother Michael, a sophomore on the team at the time. But what would they do with Nick’s legacy? 

That question hung in the air for a few years.  In similar circumstances, other teams have retired the jersey number of a player who was lost too soon. However, Tierney and the Colleluori family felt that doing so wouldn’t have been enough in the case of Nick. Instead, every year, one Hofstra men’s lacrosse player that carries the same relentless attitude as Nick is selected to wear his No. 27, the same number on the jersey he was buried in.  

“Everything that we discussed was about was keeping Nick’s spirit alive,” Tierney said.  “A jersey gets retired, and then nothing really happens. It just made sense to us to have guys in the future remember him by handing out No. 27 every year to someone that reminds us of him.” 

Wearing No. 27 is more prestigious than being a team captain, according to Tierney, and isn’t just given out. The Hofstra head coach requires any player interested to text him and explain why they’re deserving of carrying Colleluori’s torch before he and the coaching staff put it to a vote, with assistant coach John Gorman getting two votes as a former teammate of Nick. 

“I tell guys to really think about it,” Tierney said. “The ‘why’ should be rather lengthy. They should do their homework because we don’t want just anybody wearing 27.”

That wasn’t exactly the case when it came to Adam Swarsen, though. As a freshman on the team at the time, Swarsen was in the room when the Pride first learned of Nick’s diagnosis in what was a “quiet and intense” setting. Entering his fifth season in 2010, Swarsen was an easy choice to be the first player to wear the No. 27 for Hofstra since Nick’s passing. 

“Adam had a competitive edge; his ‘compete’ level was higher than everyone else,” Tierney said. “He was a nasty human when he stepped on the field, and Nick had that to him. He didn’t care what your size was. Adam, being the first one to wear 27, just set the bar really high.”  

“I was shocked when they asked me,” Swarsen said. “I never thought anyone would wear that number again.”

Thirteen players have now donned the No. 27 and form an exclusive fraternity of the best men that have ever suited up for the Hofstra men’s lacrosse team. This season, graduate defenseman Corey Kale will carry the legacy of Nick Colleluori on his back every game.

Head coach Seth Tierney and Corey Kale

Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics

“It’s such an incredible honor,” Kale said. “It’s the epitome of what we want to represent here at Hofstra. Everybody wants to be like Nick, and it’s just such an honor to wear this number and represent him.” 

In 46 games across his five years at Hofstra, Kale has only scored eight goals and totaled just 20 shots. However, he wasn’t awarded the No. 27 for his abilities as a lacrosse player but for his qualities as a human being. 

“Corey is one of the hardest working guys we have on our team,” said graduate defenseman Tim Hegarty, who wore No. 27 a year ago. “He’s a great friend and a great teammate. He’s a guy that will come off the field from two back-to-back defensive possessions after giving it all he has, and he’s practically throwing up on the sideline, then he’s ready to go instantly. It’s just his mentality. He’s a perfect example of what it means to be relentless.” 

Kale had the opportunity to meet Nick’s brother Michael, who is now the vice president of the HEADstrong Foundation – a charity started in honor of Nick that provides financial, residential and emotional support to those affected by cancer – at the annual exhibition lacrosse tournament known as the HEADstrong Foundation Nick Colleluori Classic at Shuart Stadium back in October. Although the two only spoke for a brief moment, Michael walked away certain that his brother’s legacy was in the right hands. 

“Corey emulates a lot of the same traits as Nick,” Michael said. “First and foremost, he’s a great teammate, which is what Nick was all about, whether it be as a teammate in sports or a teammate in life.” 

HEADstrong holds multiple Colleluori Classics all around the country each year, raising money to provide a multitude of services. One of these services is offering complimentary lodging to cancer patients that travel to Philadelphia for treatment in one of several homes known as “Nick’s House.” 

Since 2007, the HEADstrong Foundation has made a profound impact by raising $24 million to help more than 22 thousand patients and families affected by cancer, a long way from starting out as a few cardboard boxes filled with lime green t-shirts inside Tierney’s office. 

“Every year, we grow a little bit more,” Michael said. “That’s what we set out to do. I’m sure Nick would obviously be proud, but I don’t think he or any of us ever realized how big it would get.”

While Nick was going through treatment, Hofstra had an unprecedented season going 17-2 en route to a second overall national ranking and an appearance in the NCAA National Tournament. After that season, the team received a letter. 

“Seeing the game being played and seeing my family, my boys, my team, woke me up,” wrote Nick Colleluori. “I realized where I need to be and who I need to be with. I need Hofstra, I need the Pride and most of all, I need to be with my true friends. You guys are my pulse, and as long as you keep beating, I’m still alive!” 

Nick Colleluori passed away on November 28, 2006, in his father’s arms while his brother Michael felt his heart take its final beat. But, although Nick Colleluori is no longer here to watch the Hofstra Pride continue to beat, the Hofstra Pride has allowed his legacy to live on.

Photo courtesy of HEADstrong Foundation