WORCESTER, Mass. – Nathan Pine, currently deputy athletic director at the University of Maryland, will become the next athletic director at the College of the Holy Cross.
The announcement was made today by Philip L. Boroughs, S.J., the College’s president, bringing to a conclusion the national search for a successor to Richard M. Regan ’76, who announced in July that he was stepping down.
“Nate’s commitment to both the entirety of the student-athlete experience at Holy Cross as well as development of an athletic program that values academic performance, excellence, and integrity are in keeping with both the mission of Holy Cross and the principles of the Patriot League,” Fr. Boroughs said. “The Search Committee believes — and I wholeheartedly concur — that Nate possesses the right set of skills and experience. He has a strong commitment to the academic success of our student athletes, and I am impressed by his strategic vision, and his demonstrated experience in engaging faculty, staff and students in his work. I look forward to joining with him to build the future of athletics at Holy Cross.”
Pine will begin his responsibilities at Holy Cross on February 1.
“As we welcome Nate to the Holy Cross Community,” Fr. Boroughs said, “I want to express our gratitude to Dick Regan, for not only his 15 years of service to our student athletes, but also his willingness to stay on these past six months to help ensure a smooth transition.”
Pine said: “I would like to thank Fr. Boroughs, Senior Vice President Frank Vellaccio and the Search Committee for their confidence in me. I am honored and humbled to be named the director of athletics at the College of the Holy Cross. I am excited for the bright future that is ahead for Crusader Athletics and look forward to working with our talented student-athletes, coaches and staff to achieve new levels of success in the classroom, competition and in the community.
He added: “I have worked my entire life to get to this point and I have been fortunate to have a number of incredible mentors who have guided me, taught me and helped me to become the person and the professional I am today. My wife, Stephanie, and I are excited and look forward to immersing ourselves into the Holy Cross and Worcester communities and I will do all that I can to contribute to the mission of the College.”
Fr. Boroughs also announced that the College will introduce Pine to the campus community at a press event on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 3 p.m. EST. The event will be streamed live on the web via http://new.livestream.com/PatriotLeagueNetwork/holycross and later archived at the same address.
Pine has been in his position at Maryland since 2011. In addition to sport supervision of men’s basketball, men’s soccer, women’s soccer and baseball, he directly supervised all of the external support units and revenue generation for the department including development, marketing, media relations, ticket operations and video services. Pine was also responsible for negotiating the majority of the department’s business contracts, overseeing championships, community engagement and the M Club (former letter winners organization) as well as the athletics merchandising and eCommerce operations.
Prior to Maryland, Pine was at the University of California at Berkeley for three years where he oversaw all aspects of the major gift program and development staff for athletics. Pine led the university’s athletics fundraising capital campaign, an unprecedented $500 million effort.
Before Cal, Pine spent four years at West Point where he was a key member of the athletic senior leadership team. Pine was responsible for all business initiatives for Army and oversight of the external operations areas for athletics. Pine also represented Army's interests in the coordination and execution of the contract extension with CBS Sports for the 2010-2018 Army-Navy football games, and he oversaw all elements of the Army-Navy commercial sponsorship rights.
A graduate of Oregon State University, Pine worked in the athletic department there following graduation, and was instrumental in the growth in fundraising and the renovation of Reser Stadium in his five-plus years in Corvallis. A native of Eagle Point, Ore., he also received his master’s degree in education from the University of California at Berkeley. He and his wife Stephanie Strowbridge currently live in Fulton, Md.
Media Coverage
- Telegram & Gazette, Dec. 17: "Pine named new athletic director at Holy Cross"
- MassLive.com, Dec. 17: "College of the Holy Cross names Maryland's Nathan Pine as its next athletic director"
- Washington Post, Dec. 17: "Maryland’s Nate Pine hired as new athletic director at Holy Cross"
- The Baltimore Sun, Dec. 17: "Maryland deputy AD Nathan Pine to become Holy Cross athletic director"
- Charter TV3, Dec. 17: "Worcester News Tonight"
- Telegram & Gazette, Dec. 18: "Holy Cross 'incredible opportunity' for Pine"
- Worcester Magazine, Dec. 19: "Worcesteria"
What others are saying about Nathan Pine:
- “Nathan is one of the brightest and most talented rising young administrators in intercollegiate athletics. He is committed to educating and developing student-athletes through a culture of academic and athletic excellence. Additionally, Nathan has been an outstanding role model and leader to our student-athletes, guiding them in their pursuit to become future leaders. During his tenure at Maryland, Nathan has assumed a myriad of responsibilities and his proactive and strategic approach in external operations has helped our overall growth as an athletics department. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Nathan for more than 10 years at both Oregon State and Army in addition to Maryland. He is a tremendous friend and colleague and I am excited that he is pursuing this outstanding opportunity. Holy Cross is very fortunate to have Nathan leading their athletic department. He will bring a wealth of knowledge, expertise and passion to their college. We wish Nathan and his wife, Stephanie, all the best in this exciting endeavor.” -- Kevin Anderson, director of athletics, University of Maryland
- “I really enjoyed working with Nate during our time at Maryland. He is hard-working, dedicated and has an outstanding understanding of collegiate athletics. Nate will be a great athletic director at Holy Cross and they are very fortunate to have him leading their department.” -- Mark Turgeon, men’s basketball head coach, University of Maryland
- “I am delighted to welcome Nate Pine to the Patriot League as the next Director of Athletics at the College of the Holy Cross. Nate is a talented administrator who brings with him an understanding of the League’s values from his previous tenure at Army in addition to his senior positions at other outstanding institutions. Nate’s leadership will enhance the overall strength of Holy Cross’ athletic program and contribute to the advancement of the League. We look forward to his joining our distinguished group of athletic administrators and working together on behalf of all our Scholar-Athletes.” -- Carolyn Schlie Femovich, Patriot League Executive Director
- "I’m very excited for Nate and believe that he is well prepared for the role of Director of Athletics at Holy Cross. Nate is incredibly talented and I’ve enjoyed watching his development both at Cal and with his expanded responsibilities at Maryland. Holy Cross has made an excellent choice for its new AD." -- Sandy Barbour, director of athletics, University of California
- “Nate is an administrator on the rise who will be able to leverage his varied experiences at some excellent institutions for the betterment of Holy Cross.” -- Bob De Carolis, director of athletic, Oregon State University
- "I want to congratulate Holy Cross on hiring one of the young stars in intercollegiate athletics. Nate has great experience and energy that he will bring to the job." -- Greg Byrne, director of athletics, University of Arizona