Villanova Univeristy Athletics

An award-winning wide receiver who ranked as high as seventh in the nation in receiving yards his sophomore year, John Mastronardo was ranked second in school history in receiving yards and total receptions at the time of his graduation. He played for Villanova from 1973-76 and graduated in 1977. Mastronardo was elected to the Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 1993 in his second year on the ballot.
 
Over his four seasons on campus Mastronardo caught 140 passes for 2,162 yards and nine touchdowns. His total yards and number of catches both ranked second in school history when he graduated, as did his career average of 15.4 yards per reception. All three figures remained third in the Wildcats all-time record book when Mastronardo was inducted to the Hall of Fame. He led Villanova in receiving every season of his career.
 
Mastronardo had seven games with over 100 receiving yards during his career and notched at least one 100+ yard game in all four of his collegiate seasons. When he graduated only he and Mike Siani (1969-71) had as many as seven career 100-yard games. Mastronardo was second in school history with 18.4 yards per reception in 1973 and ranked third with 67.2 receiving yards per game as a sophomore in 1974. Both of those figures remained in the program’s top 10 for a single season more than 50 years after Mastronardo graduated.
 
As a freshman in 1973, Mastronardo burst onto the college scene with 29 receptions for a team-high 533 yards. He topped the century mark in two of the season’s final three games, first with a career-high 153 yards on nine catches in a 42-14 win over West Chester and later with four catches for 124 yards versus Temple despite Villanova getting shut out in its season finale.
 
Mastronardo’s sophomore season would prove to be his best and he made 46 catches for a career-high 739 yards and three touchdowns in the 1974 campaign. He was an honorable mention Sophomore All-American as chosen by Football News and was ranked 14^th in the country in receiving. Mastronardo topped 100 yards in each of the first two games of the season against Richmond and Massachusetts. In the two games combined he had 15 catches for 255 yards. He would add a third 100-yard game later in the year with nine receptions for 110 yards versus Holy Cross.
 
In his 1975 junior season Mastronardo was twice named to the ECAC weekly honor roll and earned honorable mention recognition from the ECAC on two other occasions. He was selected as the Maxwell Player of the Week after he had 10 receptions for a season-high 118 yards against Toledo in Villanova’s first win of the year, a 14-10 triumph in the season’s third game. Mastronardo finished the 1975 campaign with 45 catches for 567 yards and three touchdowns. He ranked seventh nationally in receiving.
 
Entering his senior year, Mastronardo was described by Villanova head coach Dick Bedesem as having “super ability to catch the ball in traffic and can absorb the shots and still break away for extra yardage.” It was noted that Mastronardo had run a 4.5 40-yard dash in spring workouts which was worthy of pro attention. Mastronardo had 20 receptions for 323 yards and three touchdowns his senior year and the preseason acclaim proved to be true when the Philadelphia Eagles selected him with the 259^th overall pick in the 10^th round of the 1977 NFL Draft.