SKIP DEMERSKI '67- 2017 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee

A three-sport standout at Clarkson in the mid-1960s, Joe “Skip” Demerski was a true all-around student-athlete and served as a team leader for three different Golden Knight Athletic teams. The Springfield, Massachusetts native was an all-star on the soccer pitch at Snell Field in the fall, was a key factor in Tech’s success at Clarkson Arena in the winter, and was a dominant force for the lacrosse program in the spring. 

Demerski played three seasons of soccer and acted as team captain under Clarkson Athletic Hall of Fame Head Coach Jack Hantz. A starting midfielder, he helped lead the Knights to three winning seasons and a combined 19-11-1 record from 1964-66. Demerski earned ICAC First-Team All-Star honors as a junior in 1965 and played a leading role in the Green and Gold’s best season to date with a 7-4 record.  



During the winter months Demerski was guided by another legendary Clarkson coach in Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee Len Ceglarski. Demerski skated for the Green and Gold from 1964-67 and was a solid contributor on Ceglarski’s teams that complied 56 victories and an impressive .753 winning percentage during that three-year stretch.

As a sophomore, in his first year of eligibility on the varsity, he skated in all 25 games of the 1964-65 season, recording five goals and nine assists as the Green and Gold finished with an 18-7 overall record. Playing in 25 games during the 1965-66 campaign, the 5-11, 185-pound wing helped the Knights skate to a 24-3 overall record, a first-place conference mark, and Clarkson’s first ECAC Tournament title. The Knights, who defeated Cornell 6-2 in the league championship game at the Boston Arena,  moved on to the 1966 NCAA Tournament and promptly knocked off Denver 4-3 in the semifinal round before falling to Michigan State in the national championship game at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.

Demerski served as an assistant captain in his senior campaign of 1966-67 and helped Clarkson reach double-digits in wins for the seventh consecutive year with a 14-8-1 record. 

Through 75 games during his hockey career with the Green and Gold, he tallied 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points, and made a lasting impression with Ceglarski. In a letter the head coach wrote to Demerski, Ceglarski said, “I can truthfully say that NO boy I have had has given so much to Clarkson as you did. Loyalty, spirit, teamwork, conduct and sacrifice are but a few things we ask of our athletes; you have given these plus many more …”

Demerski continued to excel in the spring and was once again a leader for Head Coach Hantz, starring for the lacrosse team for three seasons from 1965-67 and serving as captain. He started three seasons at midfield, recording six goals and four assists, and was selected to play in the prestigious North/South Lacrosse Game in 1967. 

Clarkson’s longtime trainer and Inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, Pinky Ryan said to Ceglarski, “We need more Demerskis".


Skip Demerski with Clarkson President Tony Collins and Athletic Director Steve Yianoukos