Boston University Athletics continues to reach new heights under the leadership of Assistant Vice President and Director of Athletics Michael P. Lynch, who is entering his ninth year as the head of the department.

Thanks to its five conference crowns and six regular-season titles, BU captured its seventh consecutive Stuart P. Haskell, Jr. Commissioner's Cup in 2011-12, recognizing the America East's best overall athletic department. The Terriers have now received this league award a record 12 times overall. Since becoming BU's athletic director in 2004, Lynch has seen the department claim nearly one of every three (45 of 140) America East championships it has competed in.

This past year, the Terriers led the America East with 11 teams accomplishing perfect Academic Progress Rates (APR) of 1,000 and continued to deliver an Graduation Success Rate (GSR) that is among the best in the country at 93 percent. A record 10 Boston University student-athletes received Scarlet Keys at the annual ceremony. The Scarlet Key is the highest honor an undergraduate can receive, in recognition of academic and service-based accomplishments.

In the community, BU student-athletes and coaches donate over 4,000 hours of community service annually to assist underprivileged individuals through several non-profit organizations. Some events that BU has contributed to include Race for the Cure, Making Strides against Breast Cancer, Friends of Jaclyn Fundraising Tournament and Holiday Reading. Terriers student-athletes also helped rebuild homes in New Orleans for the KRUP Alternative Spring Break and mentored Jackson-Mann Middle School students through The College for Every Student Program among many other events.

All of these achievements are in lockstep with the ambitious long-term goals Lynch unveiled for the department in September 2008. Titled Terrier Pride: The Strategic Vision for the Boston University Department of Athletics, this strategic-planning document serves as a blueprint, detailing goals and benchmarks to achieve six primary objectives: Athletic Excellence, Academic Excellence, Student-Athlete Well-Being, Community Relations, Fiscal Management and Resource Development, and an Equitable and Diverse Environment.

Lynch continues to look for opportunities to expand the BU brand and grow competitively on a national level. BU women's ice hockey, in only its sixth season as a varsity team, became the first-ever Hockey East program to reach the NCAA Women's Frozen Four championship game in 2011. In February of 2012 it was announced that BU will be adding women's lightweight rowing and men's lacrosse to its roster of sports, further expanding the Athletics program. Construction is underway on a new field hockey complex, which will be named New Balance Field after BU secured a $3 million gift from the Boston-based company. A new era of BU Athletics will begin in 2013, when 20 of the department's 25 varsity sports will join the Patriot League.

Under Lynch, BU has extended its reach by hosting 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 served as the site of the 2009 Women's Ice Hockey Frozen Four, a mere four years after BU launched women's ice hockey as a varsity program.

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.

Due to the success of that contest, the Terriers and the Big Red were asked to return to MSG in 2009 and 2011 for two Red Hot rematches, which were both sellouts as well. Thanks to Lynch's persistent negotiating, the team competed in yet another of the world's most famous sports venues when it played in the first college hockey game at Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox that borders BU's campus, in January 2010. The Terriers defeated archrival Boston College, 3-2, in front of 38,472 fans - the largest crowd to ever attend a college hockey game in the eastern United States.

Student-athletes, coaches and staff contributed hundreds of hours volunteering at local schools, fundraising for charities and offering free clinics to underprivileged youth. The Terriers committed to an extensive mentoring partnership with students from nearby Jackson-Mann School as part of their relationship with College for Every Student, a non-profit organization raising the academic aspirations and performance of underserved youth so that they can prepare for, gain access to and succeed in college. Lynch is a member of the National Task Force for CFES.

Developing and offering a comprehensive multimedia presentation for BU Athletics has always been at the top of Lynch's to-do list. He and his team launched a new official website, GoTerriers.com, on which over 100 events are streamed live each year, and the department has been aggressive on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

At the core of Lynch's efforts is the desire to provide better opportunities for BU's more than 500 student-athletes. Lynch has more than doubled the number of donor-endowed athletic scholarships while also seeing more than 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 still holds the title of Assistant Vice President, Lynch takes a leadership role at the conference level, recently completing his one-year appointment as chairman of the America East Executive Committee. He also serves as an active member of the Hockey East Executive, Beanpot, America East Strategic Planning and Hockey East Marketing committees. Most recently, Lynch chaired the Hockey East expansion committee that resulted in the addition of the Notre Dame and Connecticut men's programs.

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 an 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.

Lynch graduated from Rollins College in 1990 with a B.A. in Political Science. A collegiate All-American, he led the Tars to two NCAA South Region Tournaments and to the 1989 College World Series. 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.

A Binghamton, N.Y., native, Lynch's baseball career earned him selection into both the Section IV Hall of Fame in his hometown and the Athletic Hall of Fame at his alma mater.