2022 Hercules Tires MAAC Basketball Championships Program

O P E R AT I N G S T RU C T U RE

O P E R AT I N G S T RU C T U RE

The Canisius athletic department had one of, if not the most successful years in school history during the 2012–13 athletic campaign. Canisius became the first Division I school in Western New York to send three teams to the NCAA Tournament in the same athletic year, won four conference titles and had four teams experience postseason play, as the men’s basketball program made its first postseason appearance since 1996. Since 2012–13, the men’s basketball program has made four appearances in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT), earning a trip to the quarterfinal round of the event in 2013 and 2015. The Griffs’ 41 wins on the hardwood are the third-most of any MAAC school since the start of the 2012–13 campaign. In 2017–18, the Canisius men’s programs won the MAAC Commissioner’s Cup recognizing the Canisius men as the top overall program in the MAAC. This Commissioner’s Cup title was the first in the College’s history as a MAAC member. In addition to all of the success in the athletic venue, the Golden Griffins have achieved numerous academic honors on the regional and national level as well. During Maher’s tenure, Canisius has had 30 student-athletes recognized on the district level as CoSIDA Capital One All-Academic selections, including 10 Capital One Academic All-Americans over the last 10 years. Canisius’ teams have amassed 39 NCAA Public Recognition Awards under Maher’s guidance while the College recently reported a record 97 percent success rate in the NCAA’s most recent Graduation Success Rate report. In addition, all 20 varsity programs posted a team grade point average of 3.0 or better for the 2020 spring session, a first for the department. Sixteen of those 20 teams recorded a team GPA of 3.25 or higher, and the school’s 345 student-athletes combined to post a department grade point average of 3.41 for the term. At Canisius, Maher has helped rebrand and build the school’s Blue & Gold Fund, the primary fundraising arm for the athletic department. Canisius has increased Blue & Gold Fund support by 21 percent over the most recent six years and realized a net increase of 25 percent in donor participation. Annual contributions for the Blue & Gold Fund now total more than $450,000 annually. Maher spent seven years at the University at Buffalo and served as the Bulls’ interim athletic director from 2003–05. During his tenure as the interim athletic director at Buffalo, Maher helped UB Athletics oversee $3.6 million in capital improvements to its athletic facilities, restructure the school’s Blue & White Club fund drive for athletics, which generated $1 million during the 2003–04 season, and develop marketing campaigns which increased attendance at athletic events. He also oversaw the development of Buffalo’s men’s basketball program, which set a school record for victories and earned the first postseason bid in school history with an invitation to the 2005 NIT. Under his watch, the Bulls’ RPI increased from 284 in 2003 to as high as 34 during the 2004–05 season. Maher was a four-year letterwinner on the Canisius College football team from 1985–88 and earned All-America honorable mention honors as a senior. He received his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Canisius in 1989 and his master’s degree in sport management from East Stroudsburg University in 1990. Following an internship with the New York Knicks, Maher returned to Canisius in 1991, becoming the assistant athletic director for compliance in 1994. He became the director of compliance at the University at Buffalo in 1998, where he moved up the ranks and was named senior associate athletic director in 2002. In that role, he managed the day-to-day operations of the Division of Athletics, including the direct supervision of Buffalo’s football andmen’s and women’s basketball programs, in

addition to the office of compliance and the office of student-athlete services. In 2003, Maher was appointed interim athletic director at Buffalo, a position he held until being named to his current post. Maher, a native of Avon, N.Y., currently resides in Buffalo with his wife, Kristin. The couple has two sons, Danny and David.

SARAH FRASER VICE CHAIR, COMMITTEE ON ATHLETIC ADMINISTRATION Sarah Fraser is in her sixth year as Quinnipiac’s deputy director of athletics and SWA. In her role, she oversees the department’s sport management, academics, student services, athletic communications, business operations, equipment services and employee relations efforts. She is also involved in strategic planning.

2022 Postseason Awards Show wednesday, march 9 - 10:00am follow along on twitter! #maACHoops22

Fraser came to Quinnipiac from Brown University where she served as the senior associate director of athletics for compliance. In that role, she coordinated NCAA compliance efforts for the Bears’ 38 varsity sports and 900 student-athletes, work- ing extensively in NCAA rules education, policy development and the monitoring of student-athletes in accordance with NCAA regulations. Fraser was also the program administrator for men’s ice hockey, men’s soccer, women’s ice hockey, women’s la- crosse, baseball and men’s and women’s fencing. During her tenure at Brown, Fraser was active within the larger campus community, serving as a part of the University’s Title IX Oversight and Advisory Board and the Campus Life Subcommittee on Athlet- ics and Physical Education. Prior to her decade of service at Brown, Fraser previously held the role of assistant commissioner for Women’s Hockey with ECAC Hockey, where her administrative responsibilities included the day-to-day management of league operations. Fraser is active in national leadership roles, and is currently a member of the NCAA Olympic Sports Liaison Committee. From 2015–2019, she served as chair of the NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey Committee, and prior to that she completed a term on the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Ice Hockey Rules Committee. In addition, Fraser has been a member of the NCAA Division I Progress Toward Degree Waiver Committee, the NACWAA Legislation & Governance Committee and the NAAC Education Committee. Fraser is an active member of the Board of Directors with USA Hockey where she holds seats on the playing rules committee, the legal council and the youth council. She also chairs the USA Hockey Women’s National Team Advisory Committee. Fraser graduated fromDartmouth in1998withabachelor’s degree in environmental studies. At Dartmouth, she was an All-American in ice hockey while also competing on the track and field team. Upon the completion of her collegiate eligibility, Fraser played for the 1999 United States National Team that won the silver medal at the IIHF World Championship. In 2003, she completed her master’s degree in communication studies at the University of Rhode Island. In 2013, she completed the NCAA/NACWAA Institute of Administrative Advancement and will attend the Women Leaders in College Sports Executive Institute in July 2019.

2022 MAAC EspoRTS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 10-12 The SHowboat Hotel Atlantic City

2 8 J I M W H E L A N BO A RDWA L K H A L L | AT L A N T I C C I T Y

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