Syracuse, N.Y. – With over three decades of experience and leadership as a coach and administrator in Division I, II, and III institutions, Le Moyne College Assistant Vice President and Director of Athletics Matt Bassett has announced his retirement effective June 30, 2019. Following his departure, current Senior Associate Director Tim Fenton will serve as interim athletic director; decisions on the process to select the next permanent director are still being determined.  

Bassett arrived on the Heights in the fall of 2007 as only the third Director of Athletics in the College's history. In the fall of 2010, Bassett was promoted to Assistant Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics and Campus Recreation.

"The privilege to serve in the athletic department at Le Moyne College over the past 12 years has changed my life," said Bassett. "Everything I was searching for in my professional career, and everything I was hoping for in my personal life, has been realized here on the Heights. My wife Tracy, son Taylor, daughter Halie, and I, will be forever grateful to Phins Nation for our love affair with this amazing institution, and we will remain All in, All One, All Dolphins, everywhere and all the time"

"Matt leaves a tremendous legacy that has served to solidify the respect and influence of Le Moyne Athletics at the national level," said Le Moyne President Linda LeMura. "This legacy is not just about success on the courts and fields, but also the development of our student-athletes as true ambassadors for the College in all they do. Their academic achievement has been exemplary and their work in the community through service projects and other activities has benefited countless individuals throughout the region."
 
Throughout his tenure, Bassett has provided leadership at the College, conference and national level. He serves as the Second Vice President and Treasurer for the Division II Athletic Directors Association and has served on the Board of Directors since 2013. He served as chair of the NCAA Division II Degree Completion Committee from 2014 - 2018 and acted as a mentor in the Division II ADA Mentors program. He served the Northeast 10 Conference on the Executive Officers Committee between 2011 and 2017, and held the position of chair from 2012-2016.  Bassett held other positions within the NE10 Conference governance structure, including membership on the Finance committee, the Hall of Fame committee, and as chair of the Marketing and Branding committee.
 
Among Bassett's most recognized accomplishments has been the development of a deeply intentional, and shared mission-based athletic culture program, "Inside the 'L' – a distinctly Jesuit approach to intercollegiate athletics at Le Moyne College". The 'Inside the L' program has received both national and international acclaim culminating in an invitation from the Vatican in October of 2016 where Bassett represented Le Moyne at the first-ever Global Conference of Sport and Faith - "Sport at the Service of Humanity". Bassett was the only NCAA Athletic Director to be invited to the global summit, which included 150 leaders from around the world to consider the role of sport in the formation of faith. For his continued efforts to advance Jesuit values and mission-based programming, Bassett was recognized in 2012 with Le Moyne's Ignatian Mission Award.

"I am grateful and appreciative of Matt's many great accomplishments over the past 12 years," said Roger Stackpoole, senior vice president for finance and administration at Le Moyne. "In particular, his work on the development and growth of Inside the L has proven to be a tremendous success for the institution and the many student-athletes who have benefited from the program, both during their time here and in their personal and professional lives after leaving the Heights. Inside the L has been extremely impactful for coaches and administrators, as well as parents, volunteers, alums and other stakeholders of our athletic department, who have clearly embraced the mission-centric nature of the program."

During Bassett's tenure leading the department, the Dolphins won four national championships and 15 Northeast-10 Conference Championships in eight different sports. Over the past three years, the Dolphins have had more student athletes, and more teams, earn their way into NCAA championships than during any other three-year period in the College's history. The department's student-athletes have also maintained a cumulative grade point average above 3.0 during each semester of Bassett's tenure, extending the active streak to 31 straight semesters. Under Bassett's leadership the College also expanded opportunities by adding 5 intercollegiate athletic sport teams, while increasing participation in campus club sports from 4 teams to 17 teams.

Throughout his time on the Heights, he also spearheaded a facility expansion and modernization initiative that resulted in the development of a $3.2 million turf complex, new team rooms for all women's sports, an athletic strength and conditioning facility, an administrative suite, a newly-created state-of-the-art softball complex, and a renovation of the Le Moyne Events Center, the home of the Dolphins' two basketball programs and volleyball program.

Bassett was responsible for the creation of The Dolphin Athletic Association - formerly the Gold Wave - as the umbrella fund raising organization of the athletic department. The change in the organizational structure of outreach programming grew the Board of Directors from 12 members to 26 and resulted in significant increases in membership numbers, dollars raised through the annual appeal, and revenues generated from the three golf tournaments run by the DAA annually.
 
Bassett began his professional career in athletics as a men's basketball coach. He was a member of the Syracuse University staff that advanced to the 1987 Final Four, served as the head coach at Green Mountain College for four years and was an assistant coach and Assistant Director of Athletics for Student Services for seven years at Quinnipiac University. He then joined Binghamton University in 1997 as the Associate Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and was elevated to Senior Associate Director in 1999.