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John Suarez enters his 13th year as director of athletics at Long Island University (LIU), where he has overseen a dramatic growth of the university's athletics department. During his tenure, Suarez has witnessed a sensational rise in the Blackbirds' on-field success with 27 Northeast Conference (NEC) championships and 22 NEC Coach of the Year awards. Under his guidance, Long Island captured it's first-ever NEC Women's Commissioner's Cup in 2006. Academic success has also been a priority in Suarez's tenure. The department posted its highest cumulative grade-point average in over 20 years of record keeping with a 3.14 mark following the 2008-09 school year. It was the eighth consecutive year that the department's cumulative GPA was above 3.0. In addition, LIU has been cited with two National Graduation Awards sponsored by USA Today and has had its programs regularly recognized by the NCAA for its Academic Progress Rate scores. Suarez has also spearheaded the department as it has made major improvements to its facilities. The 2006 opening of the Wellness, Recreation and Athletics Center (WRAC) culminated a decade of facility improvement at the Brooklyn Campus. The $45 million facility houses as 2,500-seat arena, an NCAA regulation-size swimming pool and a state-of-the-art fitness center. The WRAC also features a wellness center that is geared toward a growing Brooklyn community. Other improvements include the addition of lights to LIU Field in 1999, FieldTurf in 2001 and bleachers for softball and baseball in 2003. Suarez has also overseen upgrades to the weight room, locker rooms and scoreboards. Suarez plans to further upgrade to the Blackbirds' facilities, including an extensive redesign of LIU Field and the addition of a bubble atop the Wellness Center, covering the track and tennis courts. Suarez helped spearhead the creation of the LIU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000 with 11 inaugural members, as well as the reestablishment of the Blackbird Club in 2002. Suarez served on the NCAA Management Council from 2003-06 and was a member of the Division I Budget Committee from 2004-06. Prior to that, Suarez was on the NCAA Championship Cabinet from 2000-03 and served as chair of the NEC Athletics Directors Committee from 2000-02. Suarez arrived following a three-year stint as athletics director at Mercer County College in Trenton, N.J., which won two national championships and produced 11 regional titles in that span. Suarez earned his bachelor's degree in marketing at Fairleigh Dickinson University, where he competed on the baseball team. He completed his master's degree in sports management at East Stroudsburg University. |
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