FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Courtesy of EC Athletics Communications
WINTHROP, Mass. – Emmanuel College Director of Athletics and Recreation Alexis Mastronardi has been named the 2017 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Executive of the Year, the league office announced on Tuesday. Mastronardi earns the honor following a vote by her fellow athletic directors across the conference which marks the second time in three years that an Emmanuel administrator has been selected for the GNAC Executive of the Year. Former EC Athletic Director Pam Roecker (2003-15) earned the honor in 2015.
At the helm of the Emmanuel athletics department since June 2015, Mastronardi has served as the GNAC sport chair for Women's Lacrosse, working closely with all 10 head coaches as a liaison of the conference office.
During the 2016-17 academic year, Mastronardi helped transition a pair of first-time Head Coaches at Emmanuel as well as a new full-time staff member for the Saints. She was instrumental in some on campus programing including Friday "Fun-days" on the EC Quad as well as several alumni games across multiple sports.
In the classroom at Emmanuel, the Saints increased their number of GNAC Academic All-Conference honorees and led the conference with 100 representatives in 2017. On the field of play, all nine of EC's record-bearing teams advanced to the GNAC Tournament, with the Saints women's basketball program advancing to the GNAC title game for the third straight season. The department's staff also co-hosted the 2016 GNAC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships at the historic Franklin Park course in Boston, Mass.
Before serving as the Director of Athletics and Recreation, Mastronardi served as the Associate Director of Athletics, Sports Information Director, Compliance Officer and Senior Woman Administrator during her first 14 years at the College. Mastronardi joined the Emmanuel staff in the summer of 2001, the year of the College's transition to co-education. Since that time, she has played a vital role in the development and implementation of the EC Athletic Department's strategic goals, including the addition of 11 new varsity athletic teams, the opening of the Jean Yawkey Center and the renovation of Roberto Clemente Field.
Mastronardi is a member of the College's Division of Student Affairs and received Emmanuel's "Staff Unsung Hero Award" in 2003 and again in 2016. She received one of Emmanuel's Campus Life Awards in 2005 and was selected the Great Northeast Athletic Conference's Sports Information Director of the Year in 2008. Mastronardi is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA). She graduated from NACWAA's Institute for Administrative Advancement in 2005.
Mastronardi was a two-sport collegiate athlete, playing both basketball and softball at Skidmore College, where she received a bachelor's degree in Government and Law in 1996. As a basketball player, she was a four-year starter and two-time team captain. Mastronardi was named Skidmore's Student-Athlete of the Year in 1996. She continues to hold the Skidmore Women's Basketball program-records for assists in both a single season and a career.
Following her undergrad days at Skidmore, Mastronardi received a master's degree in Criminal Justice from Boston University in 1998 and a master's degree in Education Administration from Emmanuel in 2004.
The honor marks the culmination of Mastronardi's illustrious 17-year tenure at Emmanuel. The longtime Saint has accepted a position with the Tufts University Athletic Department as the Associate Director of Athletics and will relinquish her duties at Emmanuel at the end of the month.
Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement.
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