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For most of the past 45 years, Sacred Heart University Director of Athletics Don Cook has been a fixture in college athletics in Connecticut - first as a student-athlete, then as a baseball coach and an athletic administrator. His dedication to the state of Connecticut earned him one of the state's highest honors in 1999, the Gold Key Award from the Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance. He was the recipient of the All-America Foundation's General Robert Neyland Athletic Director's Award in 2001, as well as the ECAC Athletics Administrator of the Year Award in 1998. Cook begins his 14th year at Sacred Heart University in 2004-2005 and his 33rd as a senior athletics administrator at a Connecticut institution. He was a co-founder and the first president of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), a former president of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and a member of the NCAA Council, and more recently has been serving on the NCAA Division I and I-AA Football Issues Committee. He also is a member of the NACDA Football Executive Committee and is the chair of the Northeast Conference Baseball Committee, as well as a member of the NEC Membership Committee. Under his leadership, Sacred Heart has expanded its intercollegiate athletic program from 12 to 32 varsity sports and constructed several new facilities, including the $17.5 million William H. Pitt Health and Recreation Center. He has been at the forefront of the Pioneers' move to Division I status, which began in 1999 as a full member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) and an associate member of the MAAC. He also made significant contributions at Fairfield University, his alma mater. As a high-spirited catcher and authoritative hitter, Cook starred for three Stag teams and, in 1963, served as co-captain and received the senior class athletic award. Appointed head coach in 1966, he directed the Fairfield team for 19 years, transforming the program into a respected Division I entity and producing 15 pro players. During his years (1971-86) as Fairfield's athletic director, Cook oversaw the building of the Recreation Complex, the enlargement of Alumni Hall and the renovation of Alumni Field. As athletic director at the University of Hartford from 1986-92, Cook oversaw the building of an $11 million athletics complex as well as the program's emergence as a Division I institution. As the Hawks' interim baseball coach, he contributed to the development of Jeff Bagwell, now one of Major League Baseball's finest hitters. Cook earned three degrees from Fairfield: a bachelor's degree in Economics, a master's in Counseling and a master's in Corporate Communications. In 1984, Cook was inducted into the Fairfield Alumni Association's Athletic Hall of Fame, the highest athletic honor at Fairfield for his accomplishments as an athlete, coach, and administrator. Cook is married to the former Broadway actress Patty Hemenway ('72) and is the father of two children, Christopher Cook, who was recently appointed Vice-Presidet for Marketing at Hitachi Credit America Corporation, and Dr. Courtney Stevenson of Charlotte, North Carolina where she is an OBGYN surgeon. Her husband is also a surgeon in internal medicine. Patty and Don have two grandchildren, George (4) and Juiliana (2).
