Colby Release

EWING, N.J. - Executive Director of Athletics Amanda V. DeMartino has announced that she is stepping down at the end of the month to become the Harold Alfond Director of Athletics at Colby College.
 
Liz Shatkus, Senior Associate Director of Athletics for Facilities & Operations, will serve as interim Director of Athletics. The college is finalizing a transition plan and will begin a search for DeMartino's permanent successor in the coming weeks. 
 
"I would like to thank Vice President for Student Affairs, Dr. Sean Stallings, former TCNJ President Dr. Kathryn Foster, and current TCNJ President Dr. Michael Bernstein for all of their support these past seven years," DeMartino said. "I sincerely value my time at TCNJ and am beyond grateful for the opportunity to work with our amazing coaches, staff and student-athletes. I am proud of all we have accomplished here at TCNJ and leave confidently knowing that the Athletic Department is in a great position to continue building upon the success and strong foundation already in place. I have no doubt the Lions will continue to do big things and I look forward to watching their continued success." 
 
DeMartino was appointed as the college's fifth full-time athletic director in July of 2017 and spent the next seven years cementing TCNJ's position at the top of the Division III landscape. She was named a NACDA Athletic Director of the Year and as one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of New Jersey for 2022 by Women We Admire.
 
On the field, TCNJ programs continued to pile up trophies. The Lions racked up 65 NJAC team titles (regular season and tournament championships) during DeMartino's tenure, also producing four individual NCAA champions: wrestlers Ryan Budzek (2019) and Nick Sacco (2024) as well as James McChesney's back-to-back national titles in the 200 free for men's swimming. Women's soccer and women's lacrosse each made two NCAA semifinal appearances, and TCNJ student-athletes continued to secure All-America honors at a prodigious rate, with more than 100 Lions earning the prestigious national honor under DeMartino's administration. 
 
TCNJ won the NJAC Cup in 2017-18, which recognizes overall success for an institution's athletic program during the year of conference competition. 
DeMartino worked with TCNJ's Program Advisory Council to develop and implement a Faculty Mentor Program as well as create Faculty Recruiting Liaisons, an effort to assist coaches in their recruitment of well-qualified student-athletes. She initiated a collaboration with TCNJ's Office of Leadership to launch Lions Leading Lions, a program that provides educational and motivational programming to emerging student-athlete leaders.
 
DeMartino played an integral role in launching numerous successful fundraising and revenue-generating initiatives including a department strategy for TCNJ's Day of Giving that increased donor participation and creating a diverse committee to plan and execute the department's annual golf outing, which continues to sell out annually since 2019.
 
Athletic facilities have also seen major improvements under her leadership, beginning with a facilities staffing reorganization that has dramatically improved game-day operations. Facility projects include a complete basketball gymnasium renovation, replacement of the turf field at Lions Stadium, installation of a new field hockey specific turf, a full aquatics center renovation and multiple facility branding and technology enhancements. Most recently the Athletic Department completed the installation of the TCNJ Athletics Hall of Champions located in Packer Hall, which highlights rich history of the department through new trophy cases, a timeline display of TCNJ Athletics History, an All-American wall and digital touch display which houses all of our Hall of Fame inductees along with other athletics notable achievements and awards.  The renovation also included a full weight room renovation with all new cardio and strength training equipment, in addition to an updated student-athlete lounge.
 
DeMartino served on several committees including the NCAA DIII Football Regional Advisory Committee, the New Jersey Athletic Conference Budget, and Diversity & Inclusion committees in addition to serving as the Chair of the NJAC Men's & Women's Tennis Committees. She also served on TCNJ's Campus Emergency Response Team, the group that provides leadership and recommendations to the President's Cabinet on navigating the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
DeMartino arrived from Raritan Valley Community College, where she had been the director of athletics since August of 2011. Prior to her tenure with the RVCC Golden Lions, DeMartino was the athletic director at Northwood University in West Palm Beach, Fla.