{"id":166993,"date":"2024-12-19T09:44:15","date_gmt":"2024-12-19T14:44:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=166993"},"modified":"2024-12-29T17:20:37","modified_gmt":"2024-12-29T22:20:37","slug":"bates-director-of-athletics-jason-fein-steps-down-december-31-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2024\/12\/19\/bates-director-of-athletics-jason-fein-steps-down-december-31-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Bates College Director of Athletics Jason Fein to step down on Dec. 31, 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jason Fein will step down as Bates College director of athletics on Dec. 31, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJason\u2019s tenure at Bates has been marked by significant improvements to our athletics program and major achievements by our teams and their coaches,\u201d said Bates President Garry W. Jenkins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHis commitment to our student-athletes has enhanced student success and heightened the pride we all feel in our college through the success of our Bobcats. On behalf of Bates College, I express our thanks for his dedicated service and I look forward to a bright future for Bates Athletics that builds upon his legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Jason
Jason Fein will step down as Bates College director of athletics on Dec. 31, 2024. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has been an incredible privilege to serve as the director of athletics at Bates College,\u201d said Fein. \u201cWorking alongside and advocating for our exceptional student-athletes, coaches, and staff has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. It\u2019s been a challenging year personally, and while this decision was certainly not an easy one, it is the right time for me to focus on my family. I am immensely proud of what we\u2019ve accomplished and I look forward to supporting the program\u2019s continued success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As director of athletics since 2017, Fein has led a program that comprises 31 varsity sports, 13 competitive club sports, and nearly a dozen intramural athletic leagues. He has overseen the development and execution of a long-term strategic vision for Bates Athletics while managing day-to-day operations and serving as a persuasive advocate for the needs of Bates student-athletes, coaches, and staff, including a number of key facilities improvements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under his leadership, Bates Athletics expanded its team-based programs that engage the Lewiston-Auburn community, including service projects, youth clinics and camps, fan engagement, and mentorship and role modeling. He facilitated the creation of Bates Athletics student groups focused on social justice, equity, and inclusion. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jason Fein and his team helped provide operational support that was essential to the college\u2019s ability to maintain a strong and effective residential experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A highly regarded leader nationally in collegiate athletics, Fein was named a Division III Athletic Director of the Year in 2020\u201321 by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), the second time he was a recipient of the national award. The 2020\u201321 award recognized his leadership at Bates in an unprecedented year, including the feat of pivoting operations to support the college\u2019s pandemic response while also maintaining the Bobcat team identities and structures so fundamental to Bates student-athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2021, Fein was elected chair of the NCAA Division III Management Council and member of the NCAA Board of Governors. He has served as a member of the NCAA Diversity and Inclusion Working Group, the NCAA Championships Committee, and the NCAA Interpretations and Legislation Committee. He served a three-year term on the executive board of MOAA, the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association, which provides opportunities to exchange ideas, advocate for increased participation, and support administrative opportunities for underrepresented groups in athletics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During Fein\u2019s tenure, Bates Athletics teams achieved three NCAA national championships and seven NESCAC titles, including the first NESCAC championship for women\u2019s basketball in 2021\u201322. He also oversaw several high-impact facility improvements, including a major renovation of Russell Street Track and Field, enhancements to historic Alumni Gymnasium, and expansion of sports medicine spaces. In addition, the college is moving forward with plans for a new Fitness and Well-Being Center to increase fitness space on campus and improve varsity locker rooms and coaches\u2019 offices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve enjoyed watching our student-athletes achieve personal bests, win championships, and learn from their setbacks,\u201d Fein said. \u201cTheir passion and perseverance has been inspirational, and I will still watch and cheer them on as they continue their journeys. It will always be a Great Day to Be a Bobcat, and I hope that folks know just how meaningful those words were, and always will be, to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the coming weeks, plans for interim leadership and the search for the college\u2019s next director of athletics will be announced.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jason Fein, who has served as director of athletics since 2017, has led \u201csignificant improvements to our athletics program and major achievements by our teams and their coaches,\u201d said Bates President Garry W. Jenkins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":148,"featured_media":166998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-166993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athletics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/148"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166993"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":166997,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166993\/revisions\/166997"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}