On Oct. 20 at the 82nd annual awards dinner at the Aqua Turf, the Connecticut Sports Media Alliance rewarded five people with its prestigious Gold Key Award, including Madison legend and former Hand football coach Larry Ciotti. The Gold Key Award is one of the most prestigious sports awards in the state since 1940, and it rewards people who succeed in numerous ways on the athletic scene.

The Gold Key recipients are trailblazers, innovators, and champions at the state and national levels. They are all great athletes and outstanding coaches, but even better people.

Ciotti is a 1966 graduate of Southern Connecticut State College, where he captained the 1965 football team while earning All-New England and All-East honors as a center/linebacker. He compiled a 141-41-2 won-lost-tied record and won four state titles (all in Class M) in 1976, 1977, 1982, and 1984 while coaching the Tigers. During a 10-year stretch, from 1976 when state title games were first played, until 1988, Ciotti’s team reached the finals six times. In his first two championship games, Ciotti-coached teams beat St. Paul Catholic 29-0 in 1976, and Berlin 20-16 in 1977. Ciotti also coached teams in 1973, 1976, 1977, and 1982 that went undefeated.

In all, Hand has won 12 state titles in football under four different coaches.

Ciotti eventually transitioned over to the college coaching scene, as he has been at Yale University for the past 31 years. Prior to joining the football coaching staff, on which he has been a freshman coach and an assistant coach for running backs, he served as the school’s athletic director from 1988-1992. He now serves as an advisor to Head Coach Tony Reno and works in community affairs for the athletic department. Ciotti has received numerous awards and honors over the years.