EASTON, Mass. (November 6, 2018) - The NCAA recently announced that Stonehill College associate director of athletics Steve Fitzgerald has been selected to participate in the Pathway Program, designed to provide those currently in senior-level positions within athletics administration with the skill set to further propel their careers.
"I am honored to be selected as a participant in the NCAA Pathway Program. It is an incredible opportunity to learn from leaders from across college athletics, as well as from my fellow members of the 2018-2019 Pathway Program, and I am very grateful. I would like to thank Dean O'Keefe for his nomination and support of this opportunity."
The Pathway Program is designed to provide those currently in senior-level positions within athletics administration with the skill set to further propel their careers. Participants are paired with a presidential and an athletics director mentor in the yearlong program to assist with their development. The program is an intensive, experiential learning opportunity for selected participants from NCAA member institutions. Throughout the year, participants will enhance skill sets in areas such as budgeting, strategic planning and fundraising, media training, governance, diversity and inclusion, and leadership management.
This year's participants, who represent athletics programs in all three NCAA divisions, first gathered in June at the NCAA national office in Indianapolis. The cohort will convene twice more during the yearlong program before wrapping up with a recognition luncheon at the annual National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics convention.
For more information on the Pathway Program, visit here.
The 2018-19 NCAA Division I Pathway Program participants are:
- Marcus Blossom, senior associate athletics director, Boston College
- Stephen Butler, deputy director of athletics, Niagara
- Tiffany Daniels, associate commissioner/senior woman administrator, Southeastern Conference
- Mike Harrity, senior associate athletics director, Notre Dame
- Anthony Henderson Sr., associate athletics director for development, Akron
- Chris Hoppe, executive associate athletics director-sport administration and student-athlete support services, Pittsburgh
- Maisha Kelly, senior associate athletics director/senior woman administrator, Bucknell
- Stacy Kosciak, deputy athletics director, UNC Greensboro
- Tom McGinnis, senior associate athletics director, Minnesota
- Nick Pettit, deputy athletics director, Cal Poly
- Keiko Price, senior associate athletics director for sport administration, Illinois
- Cathy Rossi, deputy athletic director, Milwaukee
The 2018-19 NCAA Division II and Division III Pathway Program participants are:
- Andrea Belis, assistant athletics director/senior woman administrator/compliance, Becker
- Bret Billhardt, senior associate athletics director for athletic operations, Wittenberg
- Channing Kimball, assistant athletics director, student success/senior woman administrator, Cal State Monterey Bay
- Franco Bari, assistant athletics director for facilities and game management, St. Lawrence
- Jennifer Thomas, associate director of athletics/senior woman administrator, Pacific Lutheran
- Kisha Middleton, assistant athletics director/business manager/senior woman administrator/deputy Title IX officer, Lincoln (Pennsylvania)
- Lauren Haynie, senior associate athletics director, Wellesley
- Nate Davis, senior associate athletics director, Pittsburg State
- Randy Loggins, associate athletics director for operations, Tusculum
- Stephen Fitzgerald, associate director of athletics, Stonehill
Fitzgerald joined the Stonehill athletics department in 2008 and has been elevated to the position of Associate Director of Athletics, after three years of serving as Assistant Director of Athletics for Operations, in 2012.
Fitzgerald manages day-to-day aspects of the athletic department's budget, equipment, athletic facilities, home events, and camps/clinics, while also providing administrative oversight for multiple varsity programs. He is also a member of the department's Senior Management team, has been a chair and served on hiring search committees for a variety of positions for the department, and served as a Championship Manager for the NCAA Division II Field Hockey National Championship. Fitzgerald has served on multiple committees throughout his Stonehill career, including presently on the Human Resource Advisory Committee, Community Standards Discipline Board, and as a S.H.A.R.E. Advisor.
Fitzgerald has been part of a department that has been recognized by the Northeast-10 Conference as the best overall athletic program four times (2010, 2011, 2012, 2015). He was the lead athletic department team member that was tasked with the development and design of the Sally Blair Ames Sports Complex enhancing the building with athletic training rooms, locker rooms, and a varsity weight room.
With 21 intercollegiate sports, Stonehill boasts one of the top athletic and academic programs in the country. Stonehill has finished in the top three of the Northeast-10 Conference Presidents' Cup standings for overall athletic performance 14 straight years, following a third place finish in 2017-18. The Skyhawks have received the NCAA Division II Presidents' Award for Academic Achievement each of the first seven years of the program's existence of honoring institutions with an Academic Success Rate (ASR) of 90-percent or better. Stonehill has earned a 97% Academic Success Ranking (ASR) by the NCAA, which considers the academic success rate of the institution based on the graduation rate of student-athletes, good for fourth among all NCAA Division II institutions, with ten Skyhawk teams receiving a perfect rating of 100%. In addition, the Skyhawks are ranked third in the National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA) Power Rankings for Division II used to assess the academic and athletic standards of all NCAA and NAIA athletic programs.
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