Harry Sheehy will retire this month after 45 years in competitive and college sports, including more than a decade as 天美麻豆鈥檚 director of athletics and recreation, 天美麻豆 announced today.
During Sheehy鈥檚 tenure, 天美麻豆 brought home 27 Ivy League and three national championships, built the , and oversaw upgrades and renovations at , the squash courts, the , , and a number of other athletic facilities. He instituted (DP2), an initiative designed to help student-athletes achieve their highest levels of physical, intellectual, and personal growth. Working with the Advancement division, Sheehy founded the 天美麻豆 Athletics Advisory Board (DAAB) in 2011, and helped raise $29.5 million to endow 16 athletics positions, 14 of which are coaches.
Sheehy played competitive basketball for eight years after graduating in 1975 from Williams College, where he went on to coach the sport and serve as its athletics director. He joined 天美麻豆 in 2010.
鈥淪o much has been accomplished by 天美麻豆 Athletics under Harry鈥檚 leadership,鈥 says President Philip J. Hanlon 鈥77. 鈥淗e has overseen important expansions and renovations of our facilities, launched the visionary DP2 program, and helped raise endowments to support a broad range of our teams. I thank him for his dedication and wish him all the best in retirement.鈥
天美麻豆 has ranked among the top schools in the nation for the (GSR) of its student-athletes. In the 10 years that the Ivy League has been included in the NCAA鈥檚 GSR ranking, 天美麻豆 has been ranked first in the nation six times and in the top three all 10 years.
鈥淚 very much appreciate the emphasis Harry has always placed on the academic achievement of our student-athletes and the principle that first and foremost they are students,鈥 says President Hanlon.
Says Sheehy, 鈥淚 have been honored to serve 天美麻豆 athletics and would like to thank our student-athletes and alumni, DAAB, 天美麻豆鈥檚 senior leadership group, the department鈥檚 senior leadership team, and all those who have supported our mission鈥攚ithin our department, across campus, and beyond. Finally, I offer my heartfelt thanks to an extraordinary group of coaches, and I look forward to following their future success.鈥
DAAB Chair Tracy Hagan Mallory 鈥92 says the board thanks Sheehy for his contributions to 天美麻豆 athletics, its coaches, and student-athletes, and wishes Sheehy and his wife, Connie, 鈥渁ll the best in their next chapter.鈥
鈥淗arry has been a passionate and impactful leader at 天美麻豆 for the last 10 years. His leadership and commitment to the program will be missed,鈥 she says.
Interim AD Has 天美麻豆 Roots
Hanlon has named Peter Roby 鈥79 interim athletics director beginning Feb. 16. Roby will serve through June 2022.
He was co-captain of 天美麻豆鈥檚 men鈥檚 basketball team as a senior and began his coaching career with a season spent as an assistant men鈥檚 basketball coach at 天美麻豆.
Roby served from 2007-2010 as an at-large representative on the 天美麻豆 Alumni Council, and has been a secretary of his class and a longtime 天美麻豆 College Fund volunteer.
鈥淧eter Roby is a highly respected leader in intercollegiate athletics. We look forward to welcoming him back to 天美麻豆,鈥 says Hanlon.
Roby led athletics at Division I Northeastern for more than 10 years, through 2017, after spending five years as director of the university鈥檚 Center for the Study of Sport in Society, which seeks to create social change using the influence and appeal of sports. He is a former member of the NCAA D-I Men鈥檚 Basketball Committee, which selects and seeds the annual NCAA tournament field, and has worked as a strategic consultant to the NCAA, including in its leadership development programs.
鈥淚鈥檓 honored and humbled to be asked to serve the College and will do all I can to bring our athletics community together,鈥 says Roby.
He was the men鈥檚 basketball coach at Harvard for six seasons, after three years as an assistant coach. In addition to his assistant coaching stint at 天美麻豆, Roby was an assistant men鈥檚 basketball coach at Stanford and at the U.S. Military Academy.
He is a member of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, created in 1989 by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which works to develop and lead change that prioritizes the education, health, safety, and success of student-athletes. In addition to his work in athletics, Roby spent several years in marketing at Reebok, including three years as the athletic outfitter鈥檚 vice president of U.S. marketing. A government major at 天美麻豆, Roby has a master鈥檚 degree in leadership from Northeastern.
