Retired Norwich Athletic Director Tony Mariano Named 2022 GNAC Executive of the Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Courtesy of Norwich Athletics Communications

WINTHROP, Mass. – The Great Northeast Athletic Conference is pleased to announce longtime Norwich University Director of Athletics Tony Mariano as the 2022 GNAC Executive of the Year, as announced on Wednesday by the league office. The honor comes following a vote by the league's 14 athletic directors. 

A Northfield, Vt. resident, Mariano retired in Spring 2022, departing after 44 years at Norwich. His final three decades came as the leader of the athletic department.

"Tony's influence within the GNAC has been paramount since Norwich joined the GNAC in 1998," said GNAC Commissioner Joe Walsh, a longtime friend. "Both his and his wife Gail's impact on the Cadets community will be felt for a long time to come. He is well respected by his peers in the GNAC, and personally, I will miss working with Tony on a day-to-day basis." 

Mariano has served in numerous GNAC leadership roles since Norwich joined the league. He has served as GNAC Treasurer, the Chair of Men's Tennis, on the Executive Committee, and as the Chair of Athletic Directors' Council. 

In March 2018, Mariano was named an Under Armour® Athletic Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). 

"My greatest thrill has been the ability to watch and get to know the hundreds of outstanding student athletes that have participated in our programs and have enabled Norwich athletics to attain high levels of success," said Mariano at the time of his retirement announcement. "I marvel at what these athletes have done both academically and athletically and how they have gone on to pursue careers in the military and civilian life." 

Mariano is a native of Rome, N.Y. and was inducted into the Rome Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. He was a two-sport athlete at St. Lawrence University (SLU), playing hockey and soccer. He scored 19 goals and added 35 assists for 54 points in 80 games played on the ice. On the soccer field, Mariano helped lead the Saints to an Independent College Athletic Conference (ICAC) title his senior year. He is a 1974 SLU graduate with a bachelor's degree in Physical Education. 

"For over 40 years, Tony Mariano has bled Maroon and Gold, and has provided remarkable leadership in our athletic department," said Norwich University President, Dr. Mark Anarumo, at the time of Mariano's retirement announcement. "Tony has been a mentor for our coaches and staff, while creating a family atmosphere that has led to a culture of academic and athletic excellence in our athletic programs. Tony's passion and unwavering loyalty to our University's mission have been admired by thousands of student-athletes, their families, fans, and the entire Norwich community. 

"He built a championship culture amongst our athletic department, while always prioritizing the installation of integrity and character in our athletes and university.  I wish Tony and his wife Gail all the best in their well-deserved retirement. There will always be a spot on every Norwich sideline for them to return and cheer on our teams as they've loved doing over the last 40-plus years." 

Mariano has helped to steward Norwich University's athletic programs to unprecedented levels of success since his inception as Director of Athletics began in 1992. In his 30-year tenure, the Cadets have won 12 national championships; including the first title of any kind in school history in 2000 when the men's hockey team beat St. Thomas (Minn.) 2-1 in Superior, Wis. 

The men's hockey team has gone on to win three additional national championships in 2003, 2010 and 2017 respectively, while the women's hockey team claimed national titles in 2011 and 2018. The women's rugby program, which was elevated from club to varsity status under Mariano's guidance, won six national championships from 2011 to 2014. 

Student-athletes in Norwich's men's and women's 20 varsity programs excel academically as well as athletically, and exemplify Norwich's guiding values in their daily lives due to Mariano's leadership. In 2019-20, Norwich placed a record 160 student-athletes on all-academic teams. 

The Cadets have won 75 conference championships during Mariano's time as athletic director and have had 16 student-athletes earn prestigious CoSIDA Academic All-American honors for excellence in the classroom and athletically. 

Mariano has helped overhaul Norwich's athletic facilities, overseeing the construction of Kreitzberg Arena and Doyle Hall, as well as renovations to the Andrews Hall locker room and conversion of Sabine Field into a multipurpose turf facility as part of Haynes Family Stadium.  

Mariano first arrived in Northfield in 1974 and earned his master's degree in Education the following year, during the early stages of the university's graduate school program. While pursuing his degree, Mariano had the opportunity to be an assistant coach with the men's soccer and hockey teams in 1974-75. 

In 1978, Tony returned to Norwich as the head men's soccer coach with his newly-wed wife Gail, who quickly became Norwich's "super fan" attending as many home games as possible to cheer on the Cadets. 

Mariano spent the first 14 years of his second stint in Northfield as a coach. He served as the men's soccer coach from 1978-1984, leading the 1984 team to the ECAC playoffs with an 11-4-1 record.  

In 1982, Mariano was named the head men's ice hockey coach.  Under his guidance, the 1982-83 men's hockey team made its first NCAA playoff appearance in school history. His subsequent men's hockey teams went on to appear in eight ECAC tournaments and earned two NCAA post season berths. 

In 1987, Mariano was named the Division III National Coach of the Year (Eddie Jeremiah Award) by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) and the New England Division III Coach of the Year. He has also served as chair of the NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Committee and chair of the NCAA Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Rules Committee.  Mariano stepped down as head ice hockey coach in 1992 when he assumed his current position as Director of Athletics. 

In May 2021, the athletic department re-named the Male and Female Most Outstanding Senior Athlete awards to the "Coach Mariano Award". 

"Norwich has been my home and to see how much it has grown has been a wonder," Mariano said. "I will miss the people and the day to day interactions I have had, but I will always bleed maroon and gold." 

Tony and Gail reside in Northfield just a heartbeat from the Norwich campus where both will remain welcomed fans.