By: Christopher Alvarez
After coming off a winning season that included six conference championships, five NCAA tournament appearances, one NCAA Division II Women’s Lacrosse National Championship and Best College Sports Program in 2019, Adelphi athletics snatched another Best of Long Island Award for the second consecutive year. The accolade is part of the Bethpage Best of LI annual contest, with Adelphi being named the 2020 Best College Sports program on Long Island.
These 16 accolades have been a byproduct of the six core beliefs each team holds onto dearly every time they step foot on the field. When an institute believes in the same morals as their counterparts, the results are likely to increase for the better.
“We believe in equity.” “We believe in integrity.” “We believe in acceptance.” “We believe in inclusion.” “We believe in respect.” “We believe in diversity.” These motivational words are the first thing players and fans see inscribed on the signages in the main lobby of the Center for Recreation and Sports (CRS) and this is what has pushed Adelphi to be the tip of the spear for Long Island college sports programs.
A good season or a good year usually consists of a winning season with another gold added to the trophy case, but for Adelphi, a good season is about accomplishing the little things, not winning.
“It’s not about what we have to do to win, it’s about what we have to do to have a great experience. We talk more about the process, the experience and doing the little things,” said Danny McCabe, director of Athletics and Campus Recreation.
In his six-year stint with Adelphi, McCabe has worked tirelessly to show how great experiences, transmitting ideas and enjoying the process, all led to a more unified diverse group aimed at success. During his time, Adelphi Athletics has been able to not only excel as a sports program but has also been the epicenter for many of the institution's connections. The Athletics program dedicates over 2,000 hours to community service each year with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Team IMPACT and Friends of Jaclyn. Currently, more than 20 companies make up Adelphi's corporate partnership roster, led by Northwestern Mutual, The Whitmore Group, MetLife Legacy Advisors, NYU Winthrop Hospital and Coach USA.
McCabe is known for giving others an opportunity to shine, and one way he shows this is by creating several new positions in the department, beginning with the addition of a varsity women's golf program and the hiring of Keith Ferrara as the first full-time strength and conditioning coach. In addition, the department created a new strength and conditioning center and Panther Fueling Station inside the Center for Recreation and Sport and fundraised nearly $500,000 to renovate its locker room facilities for the university's baseball and men's and women's lacrosse programs.
Signages located all over CRS show Adelphi's
beliefs and attitude.
Also, under his leadership, in 2017, the Adelphi Athletics program initiated the Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Council, which earned McCabe and his staff the LGBT SportSafe Gold Medallion. This committee encourages conversations about ideals, values acceptance to all.
“The Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Council is an opportunity for our students and our staff to get together to talk about ‘how would we show the rest of the world what we’re about?’” said McCabe.
It has been said that students who are in extracurricular activities, especially sports that have a very rigorous schedule, are more likely to be disciplined and perform better in school. Adelphi is no different. Their success is just as powerful off the field with 89 percent of the athletes graduating.
“Eighty percent of our student athletes have over a 3.0 GPA and of those 80, approximately 70 percent who are over a 3.5,” said McCabe.
The inspiration sign in CRS have been an integral part for Adelphi’s winning culture, but the one that stands out the most and is practiced by the whole staff is “Integrity.”
“Integrity,” said McCabe. “I think we operate with a great deal of integrity. I think our coaches operate with integrity. We expect that out of our student athletes, so I would say we have great integrity.”
McCabe is proud of the accomplishments and grateful for the people around him. Winning is not the only thing for Adelphi, but a 3-peat would be nice.
“It takes a village. It takes a lot of people. Everybody is involved in our successes, so we need to help them out when they need help and we need to ask for help when we need help,” said McCabe. “Hopefully we get another one of those awards next year!”
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