For more than half a century, Joe Ranoia was a staple in Catholic elementary school basketball in the Diocese of Camden, helping to shape the Camden County Grammar School League – and the lives of the coaches and student-athletes who participate in it – into what it is today.
Now Ranoia, who died at age 80 on March 8, 2025, will forever be a part of its future with the renaming of the league in his honor: the Joe Ranoia Catholic Grammar School League.
“His 50-plus years of service to basketball, not just at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, but throughout the South Jersey area, impacted many lives,” said Alice Malloy, principal at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Regional School, Berlin. “What a better way to honor him than to rename the league.”
Ranoia began his coaching tenure shortly after enrolling his daughter in Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the late 1970s. The Sisters of Mercy, who ran the school, needed a head boys basketball coach, and while he played basketball at Penn State, he had no prior coaching experience. Ranoia went on to lead his teams to multiple league championships and became the school’s athletic director.
“Coach [Ranoia] liked to win,” Malloy said, “but more importantly, he saw the value of teaching his players that their education was important and that they had to be respectful.”
Jamie DeCastro, head boys basketball coach at Saint Rose of Lima School, Haddon Heights, agreed. “A lot of people can coach. Not many can be as selfless and giving as Joe.”
Throughout Ranoia’s coaching tenure, Our Lady of Mount Carmel played in the Camden County Grammar School League, which is now made up of several Catholic elementary schools in the Diocese of Camden, mainly from Camden and Gloucester counties. It was originally part of the local Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) and had individual schools and parishes that made their own rules and coordinated their own officials.
“It was a wild and chaotic time,” said Phil Servus, the league’s new commissioner, and former basketball coach and athletic director at multiple schools in the Diocese. “Joe became commissioner around 1982. He immediately took control, adding structure, rules, team accountability and direction to the league.”
One of his most impactful changes: shifting the league from parish-led to school-led.
“He wanted a league where children could compete for their school and develop life skills through the success they experienced,” Servus shared. “Something they would remember for the rest of their lives.”
William Morgan was one of Ranoia’s good friends. “He made sure every child had a good experience,” said Morgan, who coached basketball at Our Lady of Grace, Somerdale, before it closed.
As commissioner, Ranoia worked closely with his fellow coaches to help grow the league and keep it thriving despite challenges like school consolidation, declining participation numbers, and the rise of township and traveling teams. He even worked to set up divisions based on the school’s enrollment, which allowed smaller schools to compete against each other and have a better experience.
“He created a fair and consistent platform year in and year out,” said DeCastro, who assists Servus in league operations. “He always made decisions beneficial to our league above himself and his teams.”
Noted Servus, “He gave us organization, competitiveness, compliance and a commitment to grammar school children in an educational and basketball environment.”
When Servus first mentioned the idea of renaming the league in Ranoia’s honor, he said the coaches, athletic directors and principals “enthusiastically approved” of the plan.
“For all of the coaches, it was an honor to have the league named after him,” added Bill Campbell, head boys basketball coach at Saint Peter School, Merchantville. “He was such a friend and mentor to all of us.”
To make it official, during an opening game between Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Saint John Paul II Regional School, Stratford, on Dec. 2, Servus announced the new league name and unveiled a banner with the words, “Joe Ranoia Catholic Grammar School League, in loving memory.”
Each school in the league will have an opportunity to display the banner in their gym during a home game this season.
As the league embarks on a new season and looks toward the future, its directors and coaches will work hard to keep Ranoia’s name and legacy alive.
“I hope the league continues to reflect the standards that he established, reflect his passion for the children, and make sure his legacy and his contributions are never forgotten,” Morgan said.
“The league will always be about the players, the kids,” Servus said. “That’s where our focus will be.”
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