When Pat Elliott decided to leave as the athletic director at St. Peter’s College seven months ago, taking the AD position at the University of Binghamton, the school moved quickly to bring in an experienced replacement, albeit on an interim basis.
Joe Quinlan, who spent five years as the AD at Seton Hall, was the more-than-capable temporary replacement for Elliott.
“I think it’s been beneficial to me,” Quinlan said. “Everyone here has been very welcome to me. I received the interim title and everyone embraced that. I had a chance to prove that I belonged. Knowing the people gave me a good foundation of what was involved with the job.”
Wednesday morning, at a press conference at Yanitelli Center, the school officially removed the interim tag and named Quinlan as the permanent athletic director, the seventh in the school’s history.
When Quinlan took the job on an interim basis, he had hopes that it would turn into a permanent location.
“Absolutely that was the goal,” said Quinlan, who was selected even after the school did a candidate search. “I knew enough already about the institution and since I’ve been here, I got to know a lot more about the program. Believe me, I wanted to stay here. I want our teams to get better. I’m excited about this opportunity. It’s a good place. The league is strong and stable. It’s a tremendous opportunity.”
And it gives Quinlan a chance to rebound after he was unfortunately forced out as the AD at Seton Hall, made to look like a scapegoat in a battle with then-basketball coach Bobby Gonzalez. Ironically, Gonzalez was fired as coach less than a year after the powers-that-be forced Quinlan out of South Orange.
The job at St. Peter’s now allows the affable Quinlan the opportunity to put Seton Hall permanently in the rearview mirror.
“Everywhere I’ve been, I always hoped to do the best job possible,” said Quinlan, who also had stints in the Rutgers administration and a stint working for the NCAA. “I am looking forward to this challenge.”
Quinlan is excited to be taking over as the school makes a huge step forward. In the fall, St. Peter’s College will officially become St. Peter’s University, having recently gained university status.
“It’s a good thing,” Quinlan said. “It’s good for exposure. It’s good for branding. It’s all going to contribute to the mission, continuing the history and tradition of the college. It’s important for us for our students to be successful. But we like to win games, too.”
Quinlan realizes that his first challenge will be to restore the success of both the men’s and women’s basketball teams, the highest profiled teams in the program. Both teams struggled horrifically last season, with the men’s team winning just five games after going to the NCAA Tournament in 2011 and the women’s team struggling to win five games as well.
“We all want to win and be successful,” Quinlan said. “The coaches and I share the same goal. They’re not happy with the seasons they had. We’re going to work real hard to improve things in the future. I think it’s the biggest challenge we face right away.”
Quinlan also insured that he will be helpful to the community.
“We want to expand our presence in Jersey City,” Quinlan said. “We’re an important part of the Jersey City community.”
Quinlan was an excellent hire for the school as it becomes St. Peter’s University. That name might take a little getting used to. Also, the program’s women’s teams will no longer be known as Peahens in the fall. All of the future SPU’s athletic teams will be known as the Peacocks…
The New Jersey Nets will play their final game in New Jersey on Monday night at the Prudential Center against the Philadelphia 76ers and the team is bringing back some of their former players and coaches as part of the celebration of the final game after 35 years in the Garden State.
One of the players and coaches that will be honored is Jersey City native Mike O’Koren, who both played and coached with the team. O’Koren spent 15 years of his NBA career with the Nets. It’s great that the franchise has chosen to honor him in their final moments in New Jersey.
It will be a reunion of sorts, when former Hudson Catholic hoop greats Jim Spanarkel and O’Koren will be in attendance at “The Rock.” Spanarkel will work the game as an analyst for the YES Network. The two were teammates at Hudson Catholic before going on to become collegiate All-Americans and players in the NBA…
The NFL Draft will begin Thursday night and it’s safe to say that North Bergen native Evan Rodriguez will be sitting on pins and needles all weekend, awaiting his fate. Rodriguez, the former Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Year and Temple University standout, most certainly will be drafted, probably in the Round 3 through 5 range. We’ll have more about Rodriguez’s draft status in future editions…
Former St. Peter’s Prep standout and former Hudson Reporter All-Area honoree Ronald Roberts was named as the Robert O’Neill Memorial Award as the Most Improved Player at St. Joseph’s University for the second straight year. The sophomore Roberts, also named the Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year, averaged 10.9 points and 5.9 rebounds coming off the bench. He also had one of the most highlighted dunks of the season, featured on ESPN…
Former St. Anthony product Dominic Cheek announced last week that he is foregoing his final season at Villanova and making himself eligible for the NBA Draft. However, there is no way that Cheek gets drafted after the year he just endured for the struggling Wildcats. Cheek would have been better off returning for his final year, but he’s certain he can play pro basketball somewhere. In this corner, it’s an ill-advised move…
Hudson Reporter H.S. Baseball Top Five: 1. North Bergen (8-1). 2. Bayonne (9-2). 3. St. Peter’s Prep (8-2). 4. Marist (6-3). 5. Hoboken (5-5).
Hudson Reporter H.S. Basketball Top Five: 1. Hoboken (8-0). 2. North Bergen (5-4). 3. Secaucus (6-2). 4. Union City (5-3). 5. McNair Academic (8-2)….
In closing this week, there was immense sadness to learn that former colleague and friend Wade Walker was killed in a car accident in Maine where he was living for the past decade. Local sports aficionados will remember Walker as a sportswriter with the now-defunct Hudson Dispatch, where he covered soccer and hockey with fervor and enthusiasm.
When the Dispatch folded in 1991, Walker went on to work for Dorf Feature Services for many years, writing high school sports for the Star-Ledger. He was a wonderful man, a diehard Ranger fan in hockey and had thousands of stories about his days covering the New York Cosmos during their heyday. He will be sorely missed… — Jim Hague.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.