2023 Hercules Tires MAAC Basketball Championships Digital Program

FEATURE STORY

FEATURE STORY

The End of an Era: Longtime MAAC Commissioner Richard J. Ensor, Esq. to Retire at the End of 2022-23 By Hamilton Cook

A PIONEER OF EQUITY Ensor has been involved with the growth of women’s sports and more specifically, women’s basketball. He serves on the boards of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, has chaired the Women’s Basketball Oversight Committee and has been a past member of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee. Ensor was instrumental in combining the women’s basketball tournament with the men’s basketball tournament in 1992 at what was then called Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, NY (currently MVP Arena), having both tournaments run simultaneously at the same neutral site for 30 consecutive years – the longest running combined neutral site basketball tournaments in DI. The WBCA has honored Ensor twice for his contributions to women’s basketball with the coach’s association’s Presidents Award in 2014 and as its Administrator of the Year in 2015. EXPANDING THE MAAC'S OUTREACH In the late 90’s, Ensor expanded the MAAC’s reach both nationally and internationally. In the summer of 1998, the league would announce a partnership with Disney’s Wide World of Sports (WWOS) in Orlando, FL as part of the conference’s mission to provide a world-class sports championship experience for its student-athletes, their families, and fans. The inaugural event hosted at Disney would be the 1998 MAAC Volleyball Championship. The partnership between the MAAC and Disney has continued and expanded over the past 23 years, adding men’s and women’s cross country, men’s soccer, and women’s soccer in alternating years during the fall, and men’s and women’s golf annually held in Disney during the spring. Furthermore, Ensor and the MAAC have also brought basketball to the Disney stage, co-hosting the ESPN Events Invitational (previously the Old Spice Classic) annually since 2006 during Thanksgiving and more recently a pair of MAAC/ASUN Challenges in 2019 and 2021, with both events played inside of the ESPN WWOS Field House. During the same summer in July, Ensor took MAAC basketball international, creating a men’s basketball All-Star team and taking them

led to a groundbreaking partnership with ESPN as well as the expansion of the conference membership. His guidance has laid the groundwork for the continued success of the conference, including the groundbreaking global success of the Saint Peter's men's basketball program during March Madness of this year. The enduring and future success of the MAAC has Rich Ensor's imprint on it, as well as the legacy of critical partnerships and relationships within collegiate athletics and beyond.” THE MAAC HAS THRIVED SIGNIFICANTLY UNDER ENSOR'S GUIDANCE AND HAS BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF EVOLUTION THROUGHOUT HIS TENURE When Ensor was hired in 1988, the MAAC sponsored 13 sports and championships and held just two NCAA Championship automatic qualifications (men’s basketball and women’s basketball). Those quantities have since grown to 24 sports and championships and 15 NCAA AQs during his time at the helm of the league. In addition to the current 24 sports, the MAAC also previously sponsored both a football league and ice hockey league, at which time the conference sponsored a league-record 26 sports.

35 years after taking over as the leader of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), Commissioner Richard J. Ensor, Esq., announced his retirement on August, 17, closing out the longest reign in NCAA history. “It has been a privilege to serve as Commissioner of the MAAC since 1988 and represent a conference dedicated to achieving success in academics and athletics,” notes Ensor. “I want to thank the generations of coaches, athletes and administrators who have competed in the MAAC during my tenure for their commitment to these goals and the MAAC Council of Presidents for their on-going support.” “I also want to single out the numerous MAAC staff members who contributed through their individual commitments to the success of the league,” continued Ensor. “It is a source of pride for me to see how these former staff members have succeeded in their own careers that often began as entry level fellows and directors at the MAAC.” “Finally, I want to thank my family for their support and understanding of the many time demands that a Commissioner juggles in managing a NCAA Division I Conference,” said Ensor. “Deirdre Ensor has been an

integral part of my own success as she managed our family. It has been a great journey together.” The longest tenured NCAA Division I multi-sport conference commissioner, Ensor has held his post at the MAAC since August 1988, when he was named as the third commissioner of the MAAC. When Ensor’s tenure culminates in June, he will have served as MAAC commissioner for approximately 35 years; the longest DI commissioner term in NCAA history, surpassing Doug Elgin of the Missouri Valley Conference, who held his post at the MVC for 33 years. “Rich Ensor has been an outstanding commissioner of the Metro Athletic Atlantic Conference for nearly 34 years,” said Rev. James J. Maher, C.M., President of Niagara University and MAAC President. “Throughout his tenure he has maintained a critical focus on the student-athlete experience, as well as a focus on strong advocacy for the inclusion of women's sports, with women's basketball being a powerful example. In the ever-changing world of NCAA athletics, his steady leadership has provided the conference with strength and stability; his innovative leadership has

12

JIM WHELAN BOARDWALK HALL | ATLANTIC CITY

2023 | HERCULES TIRES MAAC MEN’S & WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS 13

Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online