New AD?

[tau]

Cole headed to Hofstra

[GuyF]

Yup. Appears to be true. Cole was excellent and will be missed. Nyre has some work to do.

[ic59]

Rick, best of luck. And when Joe Mihalich (Sp?) retires, don't come after Jared.

[iona05]

gohofstra.com/news/2018/3/28/general-ath-rick-cole-jr-appointed-director-of-athletics.aspx

[iona1970]

Good Luck Rick you will be missed, make sure we play annually

[tootie223]

The official Iona announcement:

Iona College announced Rick Cole Jr., vice president of Athletics Administration, has been named the new director of athletics at Hofstra University on Long Island.

Cole was named director of athletics at Iona College in May 2013, and was elevated to vice president of Athletics Administration in January 2017.

“Rick Cole brought a strong athletics program to new heights. For a small Catholic college, we achieve outsized results," said Iona College President Joseph Nyre, Ph.D. "Under Rick's leadership, Iona athletics has experienced success both on and off the playing field. On behalf of everyone at Iona, I offer Rick my congratulations and heartfelt gratitude for the lasting contributions he's made to Iona College. I wish him all the best in his new role."

Iona's athletic teams recorded impressive accomplishments during Cole's tenure. Men's basketball earned its third straight MAAC tournament championship earlier this month and made postseason appearances in each of his five years. The program competed in the last three NCAA tournaments and in two NIT events as MAAC regular season champions in his first two seasons. Women's basketball earned its first-ever MAAC regular season championship, MAAC tournament championship and NCAA berth. The men's cross country program won all five MAAC championship races, extending the NCAA's longest conference title streak to 27. The women's cross country program produced a female national champion and four MAAC titles and has now won 12 of the last 13 conference titles. In total, Iona won 18 MAAC championships during Cole's tenure.

Cole has led advances in the area of student academics, as well, consistently increasing the number of student-athletes named to the MAAC Academic Honor Roll, a recognition awarded to student-athletes achieving a 3.2 or higher grade point average.

In his five years at Iona, Cole drove investments and upgrades to athletic fields and facilities and produced record numbers in fundraising and revenue generation through corporate sponsorships and season ticket sales.

“I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished together at Iona both on and off the court," said Cole. "The passion, commitment and support displayed by everyone at Iona – from the students, the alumni and the coaching staff, all the way to the highest levels of the College's administration – helped create that success, and also make it hard to leave. I look forward to the new challenges and opportunities waiting for me at Hofstra University, and will always be proud of, and grateful for, what we accomplished at Iona."

Iona has retained the search firm, Parker Executive Search, and will immediately launch the athletic director search, led by Daniel Parker. Cole will stay on in his role through May.

[Super]

Hofstra announcement:
news.hofstra.edu/2018/03/28/rick-cole-jr-appointed-director-of-athletics/

[rocketman]

Seems like a lateral move at best.

[ic59]

rocketman, not if you live on LI.

[thehat]

Mar 28, 2018 10:07:13 GMT -5 iona1970 said:

Good Luck Rick you will be missed, make sure we play annually

Agree, but I don't believe we ever heard from Lyons and Willard out in New Jersey.

[tootie223]

Mar 28, 2018 16:28:44 GMT -5 thehat said:

Mar 28, 2018 10:07:13 GMT -5 iona1970 said:

Good Luck Rick you will be missed, make sure we play annually

Agree, but I don't believe we ever heard from Lyons and Willard out in New Jersey.

It should have been part of the deal when they left.

[iona1970]

Mar 28, 2018 16:28:44 GMT -5 thehat said:

Mar 28, 2018 10:07:13 GMT -5 iona1970 said:

Good Luck Rick you will be missed, make sure we play annually

Agree, but I don't believe we ever heard from Lyons and Willard out in New Jersey.

true but now we have 3 local teams maybe seton hall can get njit or princeton and do a tournament

[iona81]

Mar 28, 2018 15:53:28 GMT -5 rocketman said:

Seems like a lateral move at best.

Couldn't be further from the truth,not even close to a lateral move!!!!

[gregcrow]

Mar 28, 2018 17:35:19 GMT -5 iona81 said:

Mar 28, 2018 15:53:28 GMT -5 rocketman said:

Seems like a lateral move at best.

Couldn't be further from the truth,not even close to a lateral move!!!!

You are 100% correct. I'm sure he's getting paid much better and it's a good job. However I hope he doesn't expect the annual visits to the NCAA tournament to continue.

[iona05]

Mar 28, 2018 18:05:00 GMT -5 gregcrow said:

Mar 28, 2018 17:35:19 GMT -5 iona81 said:

Couldn't be further from the truth,not even close to a lateral move!!!!

You are 100% correct. I'm sure he's getting paid much better and it's a good job. However I hope he doesn't expect the annual visits to the NCAA tournament to continue.

If he takes a certain coach with him he can