Sharon Beverly and Mark Corino Named ECAC Jostens Administrators of the Year

CAPE COD, Mass. - Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Commissioner Rudy Keeling announced today that Sharon Beverly, Director of Athletics at Vassar College,  and Mark Corino, Executive Director of Athletics at Caldwell College, have been selected as the recipients of the 2010 ECAC Jostens Administrators of the Year award. The ECAC Jostens Male and Female Administrators of the Year awards are presented annually to administrators from ECAC member schools or conferences in recognition of outstanding or meritorious service to the ECAC. They will receive their awards on Tuesday, September 28, at the ECAC Honors Banquet presented by Jostens. The luncheon will be held at The Resort and Conference Center at Hyannis, Massachusetts during the 2010 ECAC Fall Convention and Trade Show.

Beverly, who had served as Vassar College's Associate Director of Athletics/Senior Woman Administrator from 2002-2004 and as Interim Director of Athletics since July 1, 2004, was named as Director of Athletics & Physical Education on April 7, 2005. At Vassar, she oversees 25 varsity teams and more than 450 student-athletes that compete as an NCAA Division III program in the Liberty League.

Beverly, who has been involved in intercollegiate athletics for more than 25 years, is one of a select few African-American women Athletics Directors in the country. She joined Vassar's Office of Athletics in 2002, after a successful career as head women's basketball coach at Queens College, in Flushing, NY, Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ and New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, NJ.

Beverly recently completed her Ph.D. at Capella University in May of 2010. She is currently serving on the NCAA Woman of the Year Selection Committee and the committee selecting the DIII Strategic Alliance Matching Grants. She has served as chairperson of the NCAA Division III Nominating Committee, and served as a member of the NCAA Division III Convention Planning Subcommittee. Beverly earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from Queens College.

Beverly's 11-year career at Division I FDU includes Northeast Conference (NEC) Championships in 1990 and 1992 and a regular season NEC title in 1993. Following the 1990 season, she was selected as the New Jersey State Division I Coach of the Year. In 1992, the Knights finished 23-4 and set the school record for victories. The following season, FDU tied for the NEC regular-season title with a 14-4 mark, and for her efforts Beverly was named the NEC Coach of the Year. While at FDU, Beverly was selected as an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic Festival North Team in 1994.

Following her career at FDU, Beverly was the head women's coach at NJIT from 1999-2002, leading the Highlanders to the most wins at the Division II level.

Beverly began her coaching career at her alma mater, Queens College, as head coach and assistant director of athletics, where she enjoyed a six-year stint highlighted by an AIAW regional bid and an ECAC Tournament berth.

Beverly is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Women's Athletic Administrators (NACWAA) and the National Association of Division III Administrators (NADA).

During her career, she has also served as president of the New Jersey State Coaches Association and the New York Metropolitan Coaches Association. Beverly also served as the state chair for the Women's Basketball Open Division for the Empire State Games.

A formidable player in her own right, Beverly was a junior college All-Star at Queensborough Community College and at Queens College played on teams that finished in seventh and ninth place in the national AIAW Tournament. She earned Queens College's Distinguished Service Award in 1990.

Following her Queens College career, Beverly played professionally in Europe where she led her French teams, based in Caen and Nice, in points, rebounds and assists two straight seasons. She also played professional basketball with the New Jersey Gems.

An inaugural inductee into the Athletic Hall of Fame at Christ the King High School in New York, Beverly's husband, Randy Beverly, is a former defensive back with the New York Jets and was an integral member of the Super Bowl III championship team in 1969.

Corino arrived at Caldwell in 1988 as the College’s first full-time athletic director with additional duties as head men’s basketball coach. Despite having virtually no foundation on which to build a successful basketball program when he came to Caldwell College, as the program was established one year before his arrival, the team has thrived. Similarly, with Corino as the College’s first full-time athletic director, the athletic department has made significant strides in its short existence. In his first year, Corino headed a department that had three programs and no conference affiliation. Today, Caldwell has 11 intercollegiate athletic programs that compete in the CACC. Corino also oversaw the College’s transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II, which was completed in 2003.

Along with the jump to NCAA Division II status came an upgrade in facilities with the opening of the state-of-the-art George R. Newman Center, home of the Caldwell College basketball and volleyball teams.

Corino also played a role in the creation of the CACC, which has grown to 14 members. Corino, who has served as the conference’s president during two separate stints, was named the CACC and NAIA Region X Administrator of the Year in 2000. He also was among 14 finalists for the NAIA National Athletic Administrator of the Year.

Corino remains actively involved in the intercollegiate athletics community. He has served on the Board of the Directors for the ECAC since 2007, and is the CACC’s representative on the Division II Athletic Directors Association Board of Directors. Also, Corino is in his second year serving on the East Region’s Regional Advisory Committee for men’s basketball.

Corino and the towns of Caldwell and West Caldwell have been working together to try to renovate a baseball field near campus that would benefit all three entities. This spring the funding was approved, ending a long effort to give the Caldwell College baseball team a home closer to campus. Additionally, the cooperative project will give the community a state-of-the-art recreational facility that will be used for several sports by the local youth recreation departments. This aligns with the NCAA Division II initiative on community engagement.

Corino also has been expanding Cougar Pride, the official booster club of Caldwell College Athletics that supports a degree completion program for student-athletes who have exhausted their athletic eligibility but have yet to graduate. This summer, Cougar Pride hosted its inaugural golf outing in memory of former Caldwell basketball assistant coach Bruce Gallagher, who passed away in 1998. A portion of the proceeds from the outing were used to fund a scholarship to Caldwell College for a student from Nutley High School, where Gallagher taught history. This fall, the Caldwell College Athletics Hall of Fame, sponsored by Cougar Pride, will induct its first class of honorees. Corino has played an integral role in the creation and development of both the golf outing and the Hall of Fame.

On the hardwood, Corino begins his 23rd season as the head men’s basketball coach at Caldwell College and 28th overall. One of the most successful college coaches in the state of New Jersey, Corino is fourth all-time among men’s college coaches in the state with 457 career victories. After winning his 300th game at Caldwell as well as reaching the 400-win plateau for his career in an eventful 2006, Corino achieved another milestone in 2007 by winning the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament and advancing to the NCAA Northeast Region Tournament for the first time. Through 27 years, his overall record is 457-329, including a 362-281 mark in 22 seasons at Caldwell.

The list of Corino’s accomplishments is impressive: Five trips to the NAIA national tournament; one appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament; seven CACC regular-season championships; five CACC Tournament titles and a District 31 crown.

Corino also has developed and recruited several talented players at Caldwell. In fact, in 11 of 12 seasons from 1990 to 2002, the NAIA All-America teams included a player from Caldwell College. Fourteen players, including all-time leading scorer and first team All-American Matt Stuart, have reached the 1,000-point milestone. Last year, Manny Perez became the first Caldwell player to be selected to participate in the NABC/NCAA Division II All-Star Game.

Corino himself has received several honors, including four CACC Coach of the Year awards. In 1992, Corino was named the Jersey 9 and District 31 Coach of the Year. He was selected by the All-Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association as its Coach of the Year in 1998.

A native of Belleville, N.J., Corino attended Kean University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial arts. He later received a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Caldwell in 1997. Corino began his collegiate coaching career in 1982 at Bloomfield College, where he compiled a record of 95-48 in five seasons.

Corino is the youngest of three brothers who have combined for more than 1,000 coaching victories at the collegiate and high school levels. Oldest brother Jimmy was a high school basketball coach, while Carl is one of the all-time winningest high school softball coaches in New Jersey.

Corino resides in Cedar Grove, N.J., with his wife Susan, and daughter Michele.

About the ECAC^®
The ECAC is the nation's largest athletic and the only multi-divisional conference in the country with approximately 300 Divisions I, II, and III colleges and universities.  The ECAC stretches from Maine to North Carolina and westerly to Illinois. Established in 1938, the ECAC, a non-profit service organization, sponsors nearly 100 championships in 37 men's and women's sports and assigns more than 4,400 officials in 12 sports.  The ECAC also administers nine affiliate sports organizations and six playing leagues, and through the public relations arm of the conference, more than 2,500 student-athletes in 23 sports are recognized annually.  Finally, the ECAC serves as the primary conference for select members in the sports of men's and women's ice hockey and men's lacrosse.

About Jostens
The Minneapolis-based Jostens is a provider of products, programs and services that help people tell their stories, celebrate important traditions and recognize achievements. Jostens' products include school yearbooks and other memory book products, scholastic products such as class rings and graduation products, and products for athletic champions and their fans.