Jason Fein has been hired as the new director of athletics at Bates College in Lewiston.
Fein will take over the post on July 1. His hiring is the culmination of a national search that began around the time current athletic director Kevin McHugh announced last August that he will step down June 30.
“I am thrilled to join the team at Bates, where athletics is a strong and well-integrated element of the overall student experience,” Fein said in a news release.
Bates President Clayton Spencer announced Fein’s hiring in a news release Friday.
“I am delighted that Jason will be joining us at Bates,” Spencer said. “He is a seasoned athletics director in Division III, and has a broad and rich professional network across the NCAA.
“Jason’s intellect, passion, humor and generous spirit shone through in his visit to campus, and will make him a wonderful addition to the Bates community.”
Fein comes to Bates from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, where he has served as the athletic director since 2008. Last year, he was honored as the Division III Athletic Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, and as a Division III Administrator of the Year by the Eastern College Athletic Conference.
Fein is a graduate of Brooklyn College with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and master’s degree in sports management.
Prior to his time at Drew, Fein was the athletic director at the College of Staten Island (CSI). Before becoming athletic director, he was CSI’s sports information director and also coached women’s volleyball and basketball.
He also has served as the assistant athletic director and sports information director at Brooklyn College, which, like the College of Staten Island, is part of the City University of New York.
Fein has an extensive background in sports information, including as the New York Yankees’ postseason media relations coordinator from 1996 to 2012; media relations and press operations for numerous NCAA championships in men’s basketball, men’s hockey, women’s rowing and football; and media relations for skating venues at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
The Bates College athletic program includes 31 varsity sports, 12 club sports and nearly a dozen intramural athletic leagues.
McHugh is leaving his post at Bates College on June 30 after 10 years. Among the highlights of his tenure is the school’s best ranking in the annual Directors’ Cup, which measures U.S. collegiate success at the NCAA tournament level, in 2015. That same year brought Bates’ first NCAA team championship, in women’s rowing.
McHugh also oversaw the improvement of the football program, which has claimed a share of five consecutive Colby-Bates-Bowdoin titles.
“I have truly valued my time at Bates, and after a decade in the role, I am ready to seek new challenges,” McHugh said in the August news release announcing his impending departure.
“I am extremely proud of the progress we have made on and off the field, as well as the student-athletes and staff with whom I have had the privilege of working.”
Allen nets five
Lindsey Allen, the Spruce Mountain High School graduate that started playing lacrosse her junior season at Thomas College in Waterville, scored five goals on 10 shots in the the Terriers’ 20-4 shellacking of Johnson State on Saturday.
The senior midfielder now has 12 goals this season.
Allen was profiled in Sunday’s edition of the Sun Journal.
Hill of a outing
University of Maine at Farmington softball pitcher Kailyn Hill, a sophomore from Lisbon, tossed a complete-game shutout against Colby in the second game of a doubleheader split Wednesday.
Hill struck out seven batters while allowing eight hits and one walk.
Bates rowing
The No. 1 nationally ranked women’s rowing team stated its case Sunday.
The Bobcats went to Worcester, Massachusetts and defeated fourth-ranked and defending national champion Wellesley, No. 9 WPI and No. 13 Trinity in the first and second varsity races at the WPI Invitational on Sunday.
Bates’ first varsity eight crew finished the 2-kilometer race in 6:43.78, about six seconds faster than second-place Wellesly.
The Bobcats’ second varsity eight finished its race in 6:55.57, which was faster than WPI’s and Trinity’s first varsity eight times.
Bates shares the No. 1 national ranking with Wesleyan. The two top-ranked school meet this weekend in Malden, Massachusetts.
The Bates men’s second and fourth varsity eight crews also won Sunday at the WPI Invitational. The Bobcats’ first eight came in second, finishing less than a second behind WPI.
Track honors
Former Poland Regional High School standout Leah Desjardins earned her second consecutive North Atlantic Conference women’s track and field rookie of the week honor.
The Husson freshman competed in track events and field events at the Regis Under the Lights Invitational last week. She placed first in the 100-meter dash (12.33 seconds), second in the 200 (27.36 seconds) and tied for fourth in the long jump (4.36 meters).
Adela Kalilwa of Lewiston was named the Little East Conference’s track and field rookie the week, the second time this spring she has received the honor.
Kalilwa, a freshman at the University of Southern Maine, won the long jump and triple jump at the Bowdoin College Invitational last week. She also placed second in the 100-meter dash.
Bates College swept the NESCAC women’s track and field awards. Allison Hill of Brunswick was named the track performer of the week, while Sally Ceesay (Bronx, New York) was chosen as the field performer of the week.
Hill, a senior, won the 100- and 400-meter hurdles and ran the second leg of the 4×100 relay that took second at the Bates Invitational. Her 14.28-second 100 time is the best in the NESCAC this season.
Ceesay, a junior, won the triple jump and placed third in the long jump. She also ran the first led of that 4×100 relay.
Isaiah Harris update
Penn State sophomore Isaiah Harris, of Lewiston, placed second in a photo finish at the Battle on the Bayou track and field meet hosted by LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Saturday.
Harris took second in the 1,500-meter, finishing behind only LSU’s Blair Henderson. Harris crossed the finish line in 3:50.06, only five one-hundredths of a second behind Henderson.
Harris also was involved in the Nittany Lions’ season-best 4×400-meter relay at the meet. Harris, Dan Chisena, Xavier Smith and Tyreek Mathis finished the relay in 3:06.63, which ranks as the fifth-fastest time in Penn State history.
Jason Fein will take over at Bates College’s Director of Athletics on July 1.
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