John Magistro

Two ultra-successful football coaches and a well-respected basketball official complete the selections for the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024.

The OVAC Hall of Fame Committee has named John Magistro, who guided Bellaire to back-to-back state championship game appearances, and Lou Nocida, who won 10 state titles at Sistersville, in the Coaches category. and they will be joined by the late Roger Levi in the Officials category.

Those three, along with all of the previously announced selections, will be honored at the 20th OVAC Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony — sponsored by Bob Robinson — on Saturday, Aug. 10, at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling.

Other member of the Class of ’24 include Libby Shepherd (OVAC Family); Terry Rataiczak (OVAC Contributor); Kim North (Media); Alexa Abrams of Buckeye Trail and Dan Monteroso of St. Clairsville (2000s Athletes); Ashley Dunigan of Cambridge and Kinsi Tellep of Meadowbrook (2000s Athletes); Rafael Cruz of Wheeling Park and Bobby Sismondo of Steubenville Catholic (1990s Athletes); Aric Long of East Liverpool and Lisa Ribble of Fort Frye (1980s Athletes); Scott Barnhouse of St. Clairsville and Darrell Cheripko of Brooke (1970s Athletes); Tom ‘Chip’ Coulter of Toronto and Donnie Young of Wintersville (1960s Athletes); Dan O’Brien of Union and Keith Sommer of Martins Ferry (1950s Athletes).

In two weeks, the five “Legends of OVAC Schools” and the Denny Magruder Distinguished Service recipient will be announced.

Here’s a look at this week’s selections:

JOHN MAGISTRO (St. John Central, Class of 1966). Magistro amassed an impressive 242-113 career coaching record including a 181-76 mark in 23 years at Bellaire, highlighted by back-to-back OHSAA Division IV State Championship Game appearances.

In 1995, the Big Reds dropped a heartbreaking 50-44 double-overtime loss to Versailles in the title game before returning in 1996 only to fall to Germantown Valley View, 37-12, with Bellaire finishing 13-1 both seasons.

Magistro-coached Bellaire teams reached the OHSAA playoffs seven times (193, ’95, ’96, ’97, 2003, ’05, 06), winning six regional titles (1995, ’96, ’97, 2003, ’05, ’06); claimed nine OVAC championships (1988, ’93, ’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, 2003, ’05, 06); and had a 37-game regular season winning streak (1995-98).

He was the Ohio Division IV Coach of the Year three times (1995-96-97); East District Division IV Coach of the Year seven times; Ohio Valley Football Coach of the Year three times and the OVAC Overall Coach of the Year (all sports) in 1996. Magistro coached in the OVAC Rudy Mumley All-Star Football Game in 1995 and the OHSBCA North-South All-Star Football Game in 2006.

Magistro’s coaching career began at Martins Ferry where he was an assistant in football (1973-78) and baseball (1975-76) before becoming the head baseball coach (1977-79).

He moved on to Bellaire as an assistant football coach (1980-83) and then began a highly-successful as the Big Reds’ head coach (1984-2006).

After stepping down at Bellaire, he was an assistant coach at Olentangy (2007-08), head coach at Westerville Central (2009-2016) and assistant at Worthington Kilbourne (2017-2022). He also had a two-year stint as offensive coordinator of the Ohio Valley Greyhounds of the National Indoor Football League.

At Westerville Central, his nine-year record was 61-37 and his teams made the OHSAA playoffs four times while winning the Ohio Capital Conference Cardinal Division in 2011 and 2013. He was Ohio Division I Coach of the Year in 2011.

Magistro was previously inducted into the West Liberty University Hall of Fame (2001), the Minor Pro Football Hall of Fame in Pittsburgh (2015) the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2015); and the Ohio Valley Football Coaches Hall of Fame (2024).

LOU NOCIDA (Glenville High School, Class of 1959). With stops at five different high schools and one college on his resume, Nocida’s record as a prep football coach over 23 seasons was an impressive 180-76 with five state championships at Sistersville High to his credit.

Nocida began his coaching career with one year at Fort Frye (8-2 in 1967) before moving on to Magnolia for six seasons (1969-74) with a 41-22 and two playoff appearances, including a state runner-up finish in 1972. He was also head basketball coach one year at Magnolia, leading the Blue Eagles to an 18-7 record and a W. Va. Class AA runner-up finish led by OVAC Hall of Famer John ‘Fuzzy’ Filliez.

After two years at Oak Glen (1975-76) with an 8-12 record, he began a remarkable 10-year run at Sistersville (1977-86) where he compiled a sparkling 104-18 record over 10 seasons.

Nocida took the Tigers from the brink of dropping football to a state small school powerhouse, winning five Class A state championships (1980, ’81, ’84, ’85, ’86) and two runner-up finishes (’82 & ’83). Between 1980-86, Sistersville lost only five games and had a 42-game regular season winning streak, with the 1981 team finishing 13-0 (outscoring its opponents 521-26) and the 1986 squad going 12-0 (outscoring opponents 457-95).

Nocida-coached teams won OVAC football titles in 1972 and ’73 at Magnolia and 1986 at Sistersville. At Sistersville, he coached Hunt Award winner Brian Swisher and two Kennedy Award winners — Joel Wilson and Jeff Swisher.

He served head coach at Glenville State College for three years (1987-89) with an 8-20-1 record and spent three years at Parkersburg South High (1990-92 and again in 2000) with a 19-22 record and one playoff appearance (1991).

Nocida was named OVAC Coach of the Year (all sports) in 1983 and was the West Virginia Coach of the Year (all sports) in 1981 and 1985.

As an athlete, Nocida was an honorable mention All-West Virginia Class A running back as a senior. He played at Glenville State College, graduating in 1965, and was a defensive back with the Wheeling Ironmen of the Continental Football League.

ROGER LEVI (Warren Consolidated High School, Class of 1964). Levi spent an incredible 50 years as a registered basketball official in both Ohio and West Virginia, with more than 2,200 games to his credit during 44 years of active service.

He was inducted into the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s Officials Hall of Fame in 2008 and received the OVAC Robert Dawson Basketball Officials Award in 2019. He was named the District 12 Basketball Coaches Association Official of the Year in 1994 and the District 5 Official of the year in 1995 and 2008.

Levi worked a total of 19 state tournaments – 14 in Ohio (five boys and nine girls) and five in West Virginia (three boys and two girls) including state championship games in each. He also officiated at least 65 regional-level games and numerous OVAC Basketball Championship contests.

He served two terms as president of the Ohio Valley Board of Approved Basketball Officials and was also the secretary-treasurer of that association for many years.

A graduate of Ohio University and a teacher in the Buckeye Local School District for 31 years, he passed away in 2023 at the age of 75.