Husson University has established a search committee to replace Frank Pergolizzi, who retired as the Bangor school’s athletic director last week.
Pergolizzi, a former college football coach, served 10 years as the school’s top athletic administrator.
Under Pergolizzi’s watch, Husson athletic teams captured 56 conference championships in 14 sports, and several teams won NCAA Division III tournament games including the football, women’s basketball, baseball, field hockey and softball teams.
During his tenure, the school added women’s golf and tennis teams along with men’s indoor and outdoor track and field.
The institution has also added the Wadleigh Academic Center, the Wight’s Sporting Goods Strength and Conditioning Facility, and the Fran O’Keefe Hitting Pavilion during his time as the athletic director. It also gained a new press box for football and field hockey at the Dr. John W. Winkin Complex and the artificial playing surfaces at the Winkin Complex and John P. Boucher Field were replaced.
“Frank did a great job,” said Husson head football coach Nat Clark. “He lets you do your job and he supports you.”
Clark, a longtime assistant under Maine Sports Hall of Fame coach Gabby Price, said he was grateful to Pergolizzi for hiring him after Price retired in 2019.
“Frank always believed in me,” Clark said.
Pergolizzi graduated from Williams College before earning a master’s degree at Western Michigan. He came to Husson after serving as the athletic director at St. Francis University in Pennsylvania, East Tennessee State, Southeastern Louisiana and the West Virginia Institute of Technology.
He had coached football at St. Francis before becoming an athletic administrator and his six teams went 25-33-2 from 1989-94.
“Frank is just a very kind and supportive person who was all about the students,” said longtime Husson women’s basketball coach Kissy Walker. “He had a super demeanor as an administrator. We’re going to miss him.”
Pergolizzi said in a press release that the 10 years he spent at Husson “is a time I will always remember.”
“Husson was fortunate to be able to field championship-caliber teams of excellent student-athletes, guided by skilled coaches and staff. We had considerable success on the playing fields and in the classroom,” Pergolizzi said.
Pergolizzi was able to broker an exclusive apparel deal with Adidas in 2014 that is still in effect today. He also stressed the importance of academics, elevating the department grade point average to more than 3.4.
Husson athletes won several individual awards including 20 All-American selections and three academic All-Americans.
Robert Clark, the Husson University president, said Pergolizzi did an “outstanding” job.
“His attention to detail is evident in the great execution of the programs and their growth. They have more than doubled in student participation and his selection of outstanding coaches and their recruiting skills have led to Husson’s strength in the North Atlantic Conference and the university’s other conference affiliations,” Clark said.
“Husson’s appearance in the most post-season conference competitions is a testament to Frank’s leadership and the students he so strongly advocated for,” Clark added.
