Youngstown State University

    Defensive end Tom Cullen was a disruptive force on the YSU defensive line during his career from 1979-82.
    Cullen, a native of Milford, Mass., had 233 total tackles, including 139 solo stops during his YSU career. What was most impressive was his 62 tackles for losses in 46 career games played. During his four-year career, he started 44 contests.
    As a freshman Cullen was a starter for the 1979 squad that reached the NCAA Division II National Championship Game. Cullen had 54 total tackles, 22 of which were TFLs. For the year he had 26 solo stops and 28 assists. He also recovered a pair of fumbles. YSU went 11-2 on the season advancing the championship game against rival Delaware. In the title game against the Blue Hens, he had three solo tackles.
    In 1980, he had 55 total stops, 37 solos and 18 assists. Cullen had six TFLs and a fumble recovery.
    In 1981, Cullen was third-team All-America honoree and was a first-team All-Ohio Valley Conference selection. He was second on the team with a career-high 74 total tackles being credited with 41 solos and 33 assists. Cullen had 15 TFLs for 75 yards in losses. It was YSU’s first year of playing FCS Football, and Cullen along with Paris Wicks were the Penguins’ first-ever All-Americans at the level.
    Highlighting the season was a play he made in a 24-21 upset win at Delaware. Cullen sacked the Blue Hens’ John Davies on fourth-and-goal from the YSU 3-yard line to seal a key YSU victory on the game’s final play. He had 10 tackles in contests against Eastern Kentucky and Murray State and nine against Western Kentucky. Against Morehead State he had four TFLs.
    As a senior in 1982, he had 50 tackles, including 35 solo stops and 15 assists. He tied for the team lead with 10 sacks and led the way with 19 TFLs and recovered two fumbles. He had a season-best nine tackles against Eastern Kentucky and was credited with three sacks in the contests against Austin Peay and Western Illinois. He also had seven stops against Tennessee Tech and Morehead State. Cullen ended his career on an impressive run recording sacks in each of his final five games.
    Following his playing days at YSU he returned to his home state to finish his degree and become a teacher and a coach.
    Cullen finished his undergraduate degree in Education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    He has been involved with football since his playing days.
    Currently, he is a physical education teacher at Milford High School and is the defensive coordinator at Worcester State University. He has spent three years with the Lancers as linebackers coach and two as the defensive coordinator.
    Cullen has coached at the collegiate and high school levels for more than 30 years.
He was the head football coach at Milford High from 2008-12 after serving as the school’s defensive coordinator from 2004-07. From 1990 to 1996 and again from 1998 to 2003, Cullen had two separate stints at Amherst Regional with his first as the head coach before he returned to become the athletic director and defensive coordinator.
   Cullen also has collegiate coaching experience which has included guiding the tight ends at Amherst College during the 1997 season and the defensive line at UMass Amherst from 1987-1989. He originally got his start at the coaching ranks as a defensive ends coach at YSU in 1983 before he went on to coach the same position from 1984 to 1986 at Milford High.
    He was inducted in the Milford High School Athletics Hall of Fame following a standout career in football, basketball and track and field.
    Tom resides with his significant other, Mary, and her two children, Daniel and Nicholas.