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Mike Lynch |
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Terrier Athletics has never been stronger than it is now, after four years under the leadership of Michael P. Lynch.
Since being named Director of Athletics in April 2004, Lynch has overseen a pattern of unparalleled success for all of Boston University's varsity teams and outreach initiatives. In the last four years the Terriers have won 23, or greater than 30 percent, of the 75 America East championships for which they have competed, including six in each of the last two years and seven in 2005-06. Those achievements -- coupled with three Beanpot championships, three men's ice hockey NCAA tournament appearances and one Hockey East championship -- have propelled BU to a spot amongst the top broad-based programs in all of Division I intercollegiate athletics.
The Terriers have proven to be the best athletic department in the America East by capturing the last three consecutive Stuart P. Haskell, Jr. Commissioner's Cup crowns. A milestone 2007-08 victory earned BU a record 378 points, the most by one school under the league's current nine-member configuration. In addition, BU finished 76th in the 2007-08 U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup standings, which ranks the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country. Thanks to their highest finish in eight years, the Terriers were the top school in their conference and finished fourth nationally among similarly structured Division I athletic departments (those in the subdivision formerly known as I-AAA). Two teams, field hockey and women's lacrosse, won postseason contests to advance to the quarterfinals of their respective NCAA tournaments.
Under Lynch, BU also is extending its reach by playing host to national championships and other high-profile events. In 2006 the 25th NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship was held before a then-record attendance at Nickerson Field. Agganis Arena will serve as the host of the Women's Ice Hockey Frozen Four in March 2009, less than four years after launching women's ice hockey as a varsity program at BU.
Perhaps the signature event of Lynch's tenure, however, occurred outside of Boston. On Nov. 24, 2007, BU renewed its men's ice hockey rivalry with Cornell at Madison Square Garden in New York City with a 6-3 victory. Two years in the making and planning, "Red Hot Hockey" sold out all 18,200 seats available in the World's Most Famous Arena, capturing unprecedented regional attention in the nation's largest media market for the department's flagship program.
Developing and offering a comprehensive multimedia presentation for BU Athletics has been at the top of Lynch's priority list. In four years he has launched a new official website, GoTerriers.com, complete with innovative technology such as podcasts (which BU was the first school in the nation to offer) and live streaming of games. The Department of Athletics has partnered with the nationally recognized industry leader, CSTV (now CBS College Sports), to host its website and enhance its online, multimedia and streaming capabilities.
In 2007-08 more than 30 Terrier contests - including 20 men's ice hockey, 10 men's basketball, plus a handful of women's basketball and women's lacrosse games -- were televised on stations such as NESN, CN8, CSTV and ESPNU. Also, for the first time, both men's ice hockey and men's basketball games aired on the same flagship radio station, as "The Zone," WWZN-AM 1510, a 50,000-watt signal in Boston, carried all regular-season and postseason games for both teams as well as a newly created monthly coaches' show, "BU All-Access," to highlight the accomplishments of all 23 varsity teams.
True to its mission of "Excellence in Athletics, Academics and Community," the athletic department has excelled not just in competition but in the classroom and greater Boston area as well. For the third consecutive year student-athletes averaged above a 2.9 grade point average. Student-athletes, coaches and staff contributed hundreds of hours volunteering at local schools, fundraising for charities and offering free clinics to underprivileged youth.
At the core of Lynch's efforts is the desire to provide better opportunities for BU's more than 500 student-athletes. By maintaining a focus during his tenure as Director of Athletics on the branding of Terrier Pride for athletic development, Lynch has more than doubled the number of donor-endowed athletic scholarships while also seeing a more than a 200 percent growth in annual support. A skilled fundraiser, Lynch is credited with spearheading highly successful capital campaigns totaling over $100 million in gift income at three different institutions.
In addition to his leadership role at Boston University, where he also holds the title of Assistant Vice President, Lynch recently was appointed chairman of the America East Executive Committee and serves a member of the Hockey East Executive Committee. He also serves on the America East Strategic Planning and Hockey East Marketing committees. Lynch recently was appointed to the National Task Force for College for Every Student, a non-profit organization committed to raising the academic aspirations and performance of underserved youth so that they can prepare for, gain access to, and succeed in college.
Before becoming Director of Athletics, Lynch served BU as its Assistant Vice President of Development for Athletics and Student Life from 2000 to 2004, during which time he increased annual support for Athletics by greater than 200 percent, to more than $9 million, and helped generate nearly $60 million in capital commitments to fund the building of the John Hancock Student Villages, which encompasses Agganis Arena and the Fitness and Recreation Center, and the Track and Tennis Center, amongst other facilities.
Prior to BU, Lynch served for three years as Assistant Athletic Director at the University of Miami, where he participated in two capital fundraising campaigns. He previously worked at Union College on the baseball coaching staff and worked in the development and alumni relations office.
A 1990 graduate with a B.A. in Political Science, Lynch led Rollins College to the 1989 and 1990 NCAA South Region Tournaments and to the 1989 College World Series. A collegiate All-American, Lynch was elected in March 2008 into the Tars' Hall of Fame. After Rollins, he played professionally in the Milwaukee Brewers and Boston Red Sox organizations before earning an M.S. in Educational Administration from the University at Albany and beginning his career in athletic administration.
