Joe Skupski
Joe Skupski '75 Golf and Basketball
A two-sport athlete, Joe Skupski was one of the top golfers during Cleveland State's most successful era in the sport. In addition, the Parma native was a member of the men's basketball team.
Skeupski began his CSU career in 1971-72 as a member of the CSU junior varsity basketball team. HE was third in scoring and rebounding with 12.7 ppg and 9.1 rpg. He scored a season-high 24 points against Bliss and had a season-best 19 rebounds versus John Carroll. His season came to an end when we suffered a badly sprained ankle with two games left in the season. A slow recovery from the injury shelved his plans to play baseball for CSU.
Instead, he went out for the golf squad in the spring of 1972. It turned out to be a very fortunate turn of events for the SCU golf team. As a freshman, Skupski set a then-school record average of 76.9 stokes per round, with a low of 72, as the Vikings we, 12-7-1. His play earned him honorable mention All-American honors and an individual bid to the NCAA Championships and the Vikes' Most Outstanding Golfer award. At the NCAA Tournament, Skupski shot back-to-back 79's in the third and fourth rounds after opening play with an 89 and an 85 in the first two rounds.
As a sophomore Skupski began the 1972-73 season on the basketball team's JV squad. He averaged 13.3 ppg and tallied a season-high 21 against Akron. At mid-season, he moved up to varsity. In seven game, he averaged 2.7 ppg with a season-high eight points at Providence. Unfortunately for Skupski, the Providence contest proved to be his last of the season when he re-injured his ankle.
However, he recovered in time captain the golf team in spring. He helped lead CSU to an 11th place finish at the NCAA Championships where he also won the Long-Drive competition. CSU went 9-2 as Skupski averaged 77.5 strokes in 17 rounds. He also had the low CSU round four times, including a season-low 74 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, equaling the score he posted at the Youngstown State tournament. At the NCAA Tournament, he had rounds of 74-78-75-77 for a total of 304.
In his junior year, Skupski put together his finest overall year as a Viking. He played 20 games, with one stat, on the Viking varsity basketball team. He was one of eight players to score 100+ points, and he averaged 5.3 ppg. He scored a career-high 16 points at Loyola-Chicago. He grabbed a career-best eight rebounds at Wayne State and against Eastern Michigan. On the year, he shot .455 from the field and .737 from the line to help CSU set the then-season records in those categories.
On the golf course, the Vikings went, 9-4, as Skupski averaged 76.8 strokes in 10 rounds as the team's captain. He led CSU with a season-low 72 in a tri-match versus Walsh and Malone that was the second-best Viking round of the year. He was also CSU's low shooter in a tri-match with Bowling Green and Western Michigan (77) and at the Youngstown State tourney (80). His 76 helped CSU capture the Cleveland Colleges Tournament.
As a senior in 1974-75, Skupski played nine games for the CSU basketball team that went, 13-11, setting a then-school mark for wins. In the spring, he captured his second CSU Most Outstanding Golfer award. He captained a squad that went, 5-2, while he averaged 75.3 strokes in 12 rounds. He posted a career-low 68 in a tri-match with Kent State and Akron.
Prior to coming to CSU, Skupski was a three-sport athlete at Padua Franciscan High School. He was a two-time All-Conference performer in basketball and earned four letters in golf and three in baseball. As a senior, Skupski averaged 21.0 ppg in basketball.
