Marist Senior Associate Athletics Director Colin Sullivan is leaving his post to become director of athletics at Salve Regina University, it was announced last week. Sullivan had served the Marist athletics department in a variety of roles for a span of 12 years, covering two stints.
“This is a wonderful opportunity personally and professionally,” Sullivan said. “Marist has afforded me excellent opportunities for personal and professional growth. I’m thankful for that and I’m thankful for the leadership of (Marist Director of Athletics) Tim Murray, who has been my mentor.
“I value the relationships that I’ve had at Marist and the experiences, and I hope to carry these forward into this new chapter of my life.”
Sullivan first came to Marist in August 1995 as the first administrative hire by Murray, assuming the position of facilities coordinator. He rose to the position of associate AD/internal affairs until he departed in January 2000 to become chief operating officer of the Hoop Group, the largest basketball camp organization in the world.
Fourteen months later, Sullivan returned to Marist as associate AD/external affairs. In this position, his responsibilities included overseeing the marketing and promotion efforts of Marist’s 23 Division I programs, supervising the Office of Sports Information and serving as liaison to the Red Fox Booster Club.
Sullivan was promoted prior to the start of the 2005-06 season, becoming senior associate AD. In this position, his focus once again entailed the department’s internal operations, as he was responsible for overseeing all department business operations, intramurals, facility and game operations and strength and conditioning.
A highly respected member of the collegiate community, Sullivan was heavily involved in on-campus committees, including the Labor Management Group, Integrating Marketing and Campus Web Committees. He also served on the MAAC Tennis Championship Committee and was a member of the NCAA Pool of Peer Reviewers.
Murray has known Sullivan for approximately 30 years, dating back to a time when both worked basketball camps.
“Colin Sullivan deserves a lot of credit for the growth and success of the Marist College athletics program over the past 12 years,” Murray said. “His loyalty and work ethic to our college has been beyond reproach.
“Colin has been a colleague and a friend of mine since he was nine years old, working summer basketball camps. I’m thrilled for Colin and his family, but personally, I will miss him a great deal.”
Sullivan is a 1987 graduate of Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Mass., and a 1991 graduate of Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Va. At Mary Washington, he was a three-time NCAA qualifier and Honorable Mention All-American in cross-country. He earned All-Conference honors four times in cross-country and track. Sullivan then served as an assistant track and cross-country coach at Iona College. He received his M.B.A in 1994 from Iona, where Murray was serving as ssociate AD at the time.
Sullivan’s wife, Stephanie, is a Marist graduate and former assistant swimming and diving coach for the Red Foxes. They have two daughters, Molly, 4, and Rory, 2. Sullivan’s father, Joseph, taught English at Marist in the 1960s and coached cross-country under Howard “Doc” Goldman.
“Marist will always remain dear to me,” Sullivan said. “It’s where I was married and it’s the community where our children were born.”
Sullivan will remain in his position at Marist until Aug. 1.
Putnam earns Pitcher of the Week award
Rising sophomore right-handed pitcher Kyle Putnam (New Windsor) of the Marist baseball team was named the New York Collegiate Baseball League’s Pitcher of the Week for the week ending July 6. Putnam, who pitches for the Amsterdam Mohawks, did not give up an earned run over a span of 14.1 innings to earn the honor.
This summer, Putnam is 3-1 with a 1.76 ERA for the Mohawks. He has pitched in six games, starting four, including a seven-inning complete game shutout. In 30.2 innings pitched, he has allowed just 23 hits and seven walks while striking out 20. Amsterdam is 19-9 on the season.
Putnam is joined on the Mohawks by infielder Ricky Pacione (Newburgh) and pitcher Brennan Wojdyla (Amsterdam), both of whom will also be sophomores next year. Pacione has scored 15 runs, driven in 13 and stolen six bases in 23 games, and Wojdyla is 1-0 with 10 strikeouts in 10.2 innings of relief work.
D’Aniello finishes fifth in heat at World Rowing Championships
Marist alum Lisa D’Aniello (Niskayuna) and partner Kristin Headstrom (University of Wisconsin, ‘08) placed fifth in their heat at the Under 23 World Rowing Championships in Bradenburg, Germany on July 17. The former Red Fox raced against four of the top six times recorded in three lightweight doubles heats.
D’Aniello and Headstrom (7:51.78) finished behind Germany (7:35.30), Switzerland (7:38.14), Hungary (7:43.99), and Poland (7:47.87) in heat one of three. Germany, Switzerland, and Hungary had the top three times out of 15 total boats.
The top three finishers in each heat automatically advanced to Saturday’s AB Semifinals. Joining Germany, Hungary, and Poland were teams hailing from Greece (7:45.11), France (7:46.59), Russia (7:51.57), Australia (7:51.60), Great Britain (7:54.16), and the Netherlands (7:56.27).