Sports: Tim Fitzpatrick stepping down as Coast Guard Academy athletic director

Will become president of the New York Youth Baseball Foundation

New London — Coast Guard Academy athletic director Tim Fitzpatrick is resigning to become president of the New York Youth Baseball Foundation.

Fitzpatrick, in his seventh season overseeing the athletic department, will begin his new job in February.

"It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as the director of athletics at the Coast Guard Academy" Fitzpatrick said in a release. "I've been blessed to have the unconditional, complete support of two Superintendents — Admiral Stosz and Admiral Rendon — and because of their commitment to athletics as an indelible part of the academy mission and experience, the total program is strong, healthy and will continue to grow in the future."

During Fitzpatrick's tenure, Coast Guard has won four straight Superintendent's Trophies against its biggest rival — the Merchant Marine Academy — and the Bears are well on their way to a fifth straight this season having won all seven athletic contests this academic year.

Among his other accomplishments, Fitzgerald helped secure a comprehensive shoe and apparel agreement with adidas America for all varsity and chartered clubs, which was renewed for a five-year term in 2018. He also oversaw a rebranding initiative that has resulted in new logos and created an athletic booster organization, the CGA Bear Club, as an annual giving entity to fund athletics "margin of excellence" projects and initiatives.

Coast Guard also renovated Billard Hall into the Otto Graham Hall of Athletic Excellence and saw significant fundraising progress for the to-be-constructed Cadet Strength & Conditioning Center initiative in conjunction with the Alumni Association.

"Tim Fitzpatrick has been a positive and powerful force here at the Academy these past seven-plus years and will be dearly missed. His vision and leadership as our athletic director has been seen and felt by this Academy Community in so many ways," said Rear Admiral James E. Rendón, Coast Guard Academy Superintendent. "He's brought a standard of excellence to everything "Athletics" and I truly appreciate the caring and collaborative spirit he has

modeled as one of our senior leaders. We offer heartfelt thanks to Tim for the tremendous impact he has had here and wish him well as he begins a new chapter of continued service to others."

Under Fitzpatrick's guidance, the athletic department now conducts an annual women's professional development seminar (the Women's LeadHERship Symposium), which features prominent national leaders in women's athletics for female CGA athletic staff members as well as attendees from colleges and universities throughout New England.

He also established the first Cadet-Athlete Code of Conduct and saw both men's and women's lacrosse elevated from chartered club spots to varsity programs and worked with admissions to re-establish CGA's partnership with the Naval Academy Prep school for varsity sports cadet-athlete prospects.

Fitzpatrick was also the driving force with ESPN, which saw the men's basketball team's appearance in the Armed Forces Classic in 2014 and again next season, as well as the signing of a six-year agreement with ESPN to televise the annual Secretaries' Cup football game, an agreement which extends through 2022.

When he exits in February, he will join forces with 1976 graduate Sandy Ogg, the founder of New York Youth Baseball. Ogg was a 1996 inductee into the CGA Athletic Hall of Fame.

"I am so pleased to have a deeply experienced professional like Tim Fitzpatrick to join us as the president of the New York Youth Baseball Foundation," Ogg said. "He will make a big difference in the lives of many young student-athletes."