Niagara University President Named to NCAA Advisory Group
Niagara Media Relations
NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. (February 4, 2015) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference has announced that the Rev. James J. Maher, C.M., president of Niagara University, will become the conference’s representative to the NCAA Presidential Advisory Group, part of the NCAA Division I governance structure.
“Father Maher will be a tremendous asset to the MAAC on the NCAA Presidential Advisory Group,” notes MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor. “Father Maher has a strong background with intercollegiate athletics from his time at Niagara and previously at St. John’s University, where he worked directly with student-athletes on a daily basis. He will bring a multifaceted perspective to the PAG discussions.”
Father Maher took the helm as Niagara’s 26th president in August 2013. Before coming to Niagara, he served as executive vice president for mission and student services at St. John’s University. While at St. John’s Father Maher served as the campus minister to the athletics department, and worked to provide active support to the university’s high-profile intercollegiate sports program, with particular emphasis on strengthening academics, life skills and social support programs for student-athletes.
“Father Maher has many years of experience with intercollegiate athletics at the Division I level,” notes Canisius College President John Hurley, who serves as the MAAC president and was the league’s previous representative to the NCAA’s PAG. “As the discussions about the governance of Division I continue to evolve, we will look to Father Maher to be an active voice for the MAAC, our athletic programs, and the interests of our student athletes on the PAG.”
The NCAA’s Division I governance structure is evolving based on changes enacted at the August 2014 NCAA board of directors meetings. It is anticipated the restructured PAG will have a strategic and issues-based agenda, and will continue to serve in an advisory capacity to the NCAA Division I board of directors. The PAG is reviewing options for participating in strategy sessions that might include, for example, presidents/chancellors from all 32 Division I conferences, an annual joint meeting with the board or continuing as a body of 22, as it is currently constituted.
Father Maher’s four-year term with the NCAA PAG began with the committee’s Jan. 18, 2015, meeting at the recent NCAA Convention in Washington, D.C.
Niagara University
Founded by the Vincentian community in 1856, Niagara University is a comprehensive institution, blending the best of a liberal arts and professional education, grounded in our values-based Catholic tradition. Its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Education, and Hospitality and Tourism Management offer programs at the baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral level. As the first Vincentian university established in the United States, Niagara prepares students for personal and professional success while emphasizing service to the community in honor of St. Vincent de Paul.
Niagara is the only institution from Western New York to be named a “2015 Up-and-Comer” by U.S. News & World Report,” a classification based on feedback from college presidents, provosts and admissions deans.
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
The MAAC, headquartered in Edison, N.J., consists of 11 member institutions: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter's University and Siena College. ANC Sports Enterprises is the league’s marketing consultant and has the exclusive sales rights to the MAAC. For more on the conference please visit, www.maacsports.com.