By Jon Alba
Longtime Quinnipiac Director of Athletics and Recreation Jack McDonald will be retiring after 20 seasons at the helm of the program. Quinnipiac Vice President and Provost Mark Thompson made the announcement on the student service MyQ.
Below is an excerpt from the statement:
“After 20 years of outstanding service to our community, Director of Athletics and Recreation Jack McDonald, left, will retire in June 2015. Jack represents the very best of what makes Quinnipiac special: building community through a complete commitment to our student athletes and their families.
Jack has steered Quinnipiac athletics through unparalleled growth during his 20 years as the department’s head, most notably as the guiding force in the University’s elevation from a NCAA Division II program to the Division I-AAA level, and the securing of NCAA certification in its first year at the Division I level.”
In addition to the athletic success, McDonald oversaw the construction of the TD Bank Sports Center on the York Hill campus, the first step of an expansion project that saw Quinnipiac invest more than $360 million into. McDonald also made way for the building getting a high-definition upgrade in 2013, a multi-million dollar process that saw the addition of two new scoreboards and fully-operational control room facilities.
“I cannot be more grateful to John Lahey, Manny Carreiro, Mark Thompson and my entire Athletics & Recreation staff for 20 years of incredible growth, success in athletics, outstanding academic achievement and, most of all, friendship and happiness,” McDonald said via a Quinnipiac Athletics press release. “Quinnipiac will continue to be very successful and I feel very, very fortunate to be a part of the best athletic department in the country.”
The New Haven Register’s Chip Malafronte was the first to report the news Wednesday. Malafronte noted McDonald made his staff aware in a meeting Wednesday morning.
McDonald’s tenure has been largely successful since taking over in 1995. In 1998, the school made the difficult transition from Division II athletics to Division I, helping raise the university’s public profile greatly. Over the course of his tenure to this point, the school won 28 conference champions, with the men’s hockey team appearance in the 2013 NCAA National Championship Game being the closest a team has come to a national title.
While highly successful, McDonald’s run has also experienced its struggles. In 2009, members of the women’s volleyball team and then-coach Robin Sparks sued the school for violations of Title IX after the university attempted to cut the program, trying to instate sideline cheerleading as a recognized Division I sport instead. The case was settled in 2013, with Quinnipiac pledging to spend up to $5 million improving women’s athletic facilities.
However, the university has had trouble getting clearance from the town of Hamden in building the facilities, due to various environmental concerns.
Earlier this year, McDonald spoke with Q30 Sports about the development of Quinnipiac’s involvement with ESPN3 and online streaming. He noted he hoped to soon put the program in a position where live streaming would be easily accessible on a professional medium.
Multiple sources in Quinnipiac Athletics noted to Q30 Sports two weeks ago McDonald was not expected to remain with the program for more than two years. It is unknown at this time as to whether the school will look internally or to an outside source for the hire.
McDonald, 63, was named athletic director of the year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics in 2013-2014. He ushered Quinnipiac into a new era in December of 2012, when he and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Commissioner Rich Ensor announced the school would move into the mid-major starting last season.
