John D’Argenio – Director of Athletics
John D'Argenio was appointed director of athletics on April 21, 1993, after serving as the acting director of athletics for the 1992-93 academic year. Since the appointment, many new initiatives have been set forth and much progress has been made in the athletic department.
The department's first academic advising office was created and a full-time advisor was hired to work with all of Siena's student-athletes. The academic office has been responsible for implementing a tutoring program, developing educational programming and producing a student-athlete population whose combined grade-point average is higher than that of the general student body. In recent years, Siena's student-athlete graduation rate has ranked among the best in the country. In the NCAA's inaugural graduation success rate announced in 2006, Siena student athletes finished 5th among all Division I schools. The department has ranked in the top-10% nationally in each of the subsequent reports.
As part of the college's efforts to address gender equity, the women's sports programs have expanded immensely in the past 15 years. With the addition of golf, women's swimming and diving, women's water polo and the elevation of lacrosse from club to varsity status, Siena now sponsors 11 Division I women's sports.
In 1996 D'Argenio was instrumental in negotiating Siena's agreement with the County of Albany and Times Union Center (formerly Pepsi Arena) to move all of the College's men's home basketball games to the downtown facility. The move to the state-of-the art downtown Albany facility culminated in Siena and the Arena signing a five-year contract and most recently a four-year extension. Since the move, both the men's and women's basketball programs have seen their attendances soar to the top-80 nationally. Since the move to the Arena, Siena has also made major strides in the marketing of its programs. An active corporate partnership program has emerged on the heels of the 1996 decision that includes over 45 local and national businesses.
Athletic Development giving has increased over the past 10 years as well. Saints Alive!, the department's athletic development organization, was initiated in 1998 to formalize and bring structure to the department's fund raising efforts and its membership has grown each year since. Over $400,000 was raised during the 2007-2008 budget cycle through Saints Alive!, and distributed directly to services that benefit the College's student-athletes.
Siena teams have enjoyed conference-wide as well as regional and national success. In 2007-2008 three sports teams captured MAAC Championships, highlighted by the men's basketball team's memorable run to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament after an upset of SEC power Vanderbilt. The Saints' volleyball team won its third straight MAAC title in the fall of 2007 and women's golf won the MAAC for the eighth straight season this past spring. Volleyball advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season, falling to eventual National Champion Penn State.
Athletic success has been a constant for the past 15 years under D'Argenio's supervision. In 1994 the men's basketball team advanced to the National Invitation Tournament semifinals at Madison Square Garden. The Saints made their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008, after capturing their third MAAC title since 1999. The women's basketball team has captured seven regular-season Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference titles, and in 2001 advanced to its first NCAA Tournament in Nashville, Tenn. The Saints have played in three postseason WNIT's as well, advancing as far as the round of 16 in 1998. Siena has registered seven MAAC volleyball championships and four MAAC baseball titles during D'Argenio's tenure. The women's soccer program has consistently finished in the upper echelon of the MAAC after posting the nation's eighth most improved season in 2001 and women's tennis won the MAAC in 2006. All totaled the Saints have won 25 MAAC championships under D'Argenio's direction.
Siena's athletic facilities have been dramatically enhanced in the last 15 years. In 2007, the department debuted an artificial turf facility that serves as the home field for the field hockey and lacrosse programs. The College hosted the 2008 MAAC Men's Lacrosse Championships in the beautiful new facility and will host the MAAC Women's Soccer Championships this coming fall. In 2004, the Callanan Field House was expanded. The expansion features four team rooms as well as the Turchi Theater, a 32-seat room equipped with the latest in digital editing and presentation equipment. In 1995, D'Argenio served as Tournament Director for the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship First and Second Rounds at Knickerbocker Arena. He again assumed those duties in March of 2003, as Siena served as the host institution for the men's basketball East (Albany) Regional at Pepsi Arena after co-hosting the NCAA wrestling National Championships in March of 2002. The Saints have hosted numerous NIT and Women's NIT games as well, including a remarkable six in 2003.
Prior to his appointment to director of athletics, D'Argenio served as Siena's sports information director from 1985-1992.
D'Argenio served out his final year on the NCAA Division I Baseball committee this past spring and is a member of the MAAC marketing and finance committees. He also serves as chair of the MAAC baseball committee and is a member of the board for the Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau and Albany Sports Foundation.
D'Argenio earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Dayton in 1982 and a master's of science degree from North Dakota State University in 1985. He is a native of Rome, N.Y.
