Michael Louis Vespoli (born December 14, 1946) is a former American rower and rowing coach. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Vespoli USA, Inc., a boat manufacturer in New Haven, Connecticut, that makes shells for rowing teams and individual rowers. Vespoli was born in New Haven, Connecticut. Career His career in rowing started in 1964 when he joined the Georgetown University crew as a walk-on. He went on to row with teams that won several national championships, placed in the 1972 Munich Olympics, and in 1974, was part of a team of eight American rowers that won a World Championship in Switzerland. He later coached universities and was a sculling coach for the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, which the U.S. boycotted. As boat technology developed rapidly in England with the advent of carbon fiber and other materials used by the aerospace industry, Vespoli started his company with the help of his retired machinist father in 1980 in the U.S. His wife Nancy Vespoli, who was on the women's crew at Dartmouth College, a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic rowing crew and has a master's degree in chemical engineering from M.I.T., is also involved in the business. The company has become a well-known boat maker with models that have won many elite races. Coaching career 1968 to 1972, Saint Joseph's Preparatory School 1972 to 1974, University of Massachusetts Amherst 1974 to 1977, Wichita State University 1977 to 1980, Yale University St. Joseph Prep School National Schoolboy Champions University of Massachusetts Two consecutive Dad Vail Men's 8 Champions Wichita State University Vespoli was given the goal to develop a nationally recognized rowing program in three years. 1976, Novice Men's 8, Wichita State defeats Yale. 1977, Novice HW Men's 8, Wichita State loses to University of Wisconsin by 2.57 seconds Yale University 1979, Freshmen HW Men's 8 places first at the Eastern Sprints. The Tony Johnson-Mike Vespoli coaching combination proves to be formidable. 1979, Yale sweeps in in HW Men's V and JV the Eastern Sprints. Yale's Heavyweight Men's 8 places first again at the 1981 Eastern Sprints. In the four years (1981–1984) following Mike Vespoli's departure as Yale's Frosh Men's Heavyweight coach, Yale's Varsity Men's Heavyweight Crew defeated Harvard in the annual Harvard-Yale race. Yale had not defeated Harvard in 18 years. From an interview with Rowing News' Jeff Moag, November 2009, Mike Vespoli said, "We won the