Northeastern University Athletics

James Carisella, Class of 1973, has been elected to the Northeastern University Varsity Club Hall of Fame for excellence in the sport of track & field and for his continued support of his alma mater.

Carisella was a high school star in the pole vault who rose to set Northeastern and New England records, in addition to finishing ninth in the pole vault at the NCAA championships during his illustrious collegiate career.

Carisella was a standout vaulter and gymnast at Wakefield High School. He earned three track letters and set the school record at 13’3. In gymnastics, he won the state title in the longhorse.

In Carisella’s first season on Huntington Avenue in 1968-69, freshmen were not eligible for varsity competition. However, during the indoor and outdoor seasons in freshman competition, he lost only once and won the freshman Greater Boston Collegiate (GBC) championship by clearing 14’.

In his sophomore season, Carisella set three meet marks and won the Greater Boston indoor title. He also set an NU indoor mark of 14’8. At this point in time, Northeastern, under the tutelage of coach Irwin Cohen, was an emerging track power. However, every way the team turned, Harvard was number one. That year, Northeastern was 8-2 indoors, 7-0 outdoors, and placed second to the Crimson in both the indoor and outdoor GBCs.

In Carisella’s junior year, he dominated in the pole vault, upping his NU indoor record to 15’11 and setting an outdoor record of 15’1. His indoor vault of 15’11 was also a New England record. He repeated as the indoor GBC champ. The team went 7-3 indoors and 6-1 outdoors. Once again the team finished second to Harvard in the indoor and outdoor Greater Boston Collegiate championships.

Carisella’s senior season was both his and NU’s best. He won the GBC indoor pole vault for a three-peat. He then added the New England title. He upped the NU and New England record to 16’4, which lasted nearly two decades. Outdoors, he won the GBC and upped the outdoor record to 16’. The team had a perfect year, going 9-0 indoors and 5-0 outdoors. It finally broke the Harvard curse, winning the indoor and outdoor GBCs. As an extra, the team won both the New England indoor and outdoor crowns.

Carisella was honored after that perfect season by being selected as the Huskies’ Trackman of the Year.
A Dean’s List student, Carisella went on to earn a Doctor of Science degree at MIT. He holds over 30 U.S. and international patents relating to the oil industry and founded and ran many companies.

Recently, he committed $500,000 to Northeastern track & field. Northeastern’s popular invitational meet is now called the Jay Carisella Invitational in honor of his son, who, as a Northeastern student, died tragically in an automobile accident.

Carisella currently resides in Metairie, La., with his wife Dianne and daughter Olivia.