Boston College Athletics
DeFilippo Honored To Be Honored By Springfield College
July 30, 2001 | Boston College Athletics
July 30, 2001
Boston College director of athletics Gene DeFilippo will receive Springfield College's Distinguished Alumnus Award at the Homecoming Dinner, on Saturday, October 20, 2001, at 7:00 p.m., on the college campus in Western Massachusetts.
DeFilippo completed his bachelor's degree cum laude in physical education in 1973 at Springfield College, where he earned three varsity letters in football. He will be cited for professional excellence, outstanding achievement in his field, and service to others. The award criteria are based upon the college's guiding philosophy, titled humanics, which emphasizes dedication of the spirit, mind, and body for leadership in service to others.
The former athletic director at Villanova University, DeFilippo came to Boston College in 1997. He just completed one of the most successful years in the college's sports history by being named the 2000-2001 Division I-A Northeast Region National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics/ Continental Airlines Athletic Director of the Year.
An athletics director with a reputation for enthusiasm, DeFilippo sets a tone for student athletes to excel in academics and to commit to helping others. This year, many BC student-athletes maintained a grade point average of 3.0 or higher and participated in a pen pals program with local children.
During DeFilippo's tenure at Villanova, the college's teams won several BIG EAST, National Invitation Tournament, and NCAA championships. Revenues and endowment for athletics increased substantially, and he was credited with developing plans for upgrading athletics facilities, improving gender equity, and increasing services to student-athletes.
With a definition of success as doing what one likes and excelling at it, DeFilippo began his rise in athletics as a coach for the University of Tennessee football, later became offensive coordinator at Youngstown State College, and then was named offensive backfield coach at Vanderbilt University. In 1983, he moved to athletic management as director of administrative services for athletics at Vanderbilt University. He later became athletic director at the University of South Carolina-Spartanburg, and next was named associate athletic director for external affairs at the University of Kentucky before moving to Villanova.
Receiving a Distinguished Alumnus Award with DeFilippo will be Patrick Allen, the founder of the Black Biomedical Research Movement and a professor and researcher at the University of Colorado at boulder on the HIV virus. Stacey Hall-Yannessa, assistant director of intramurals and club sports at Indiana University, will received the Young Alumna Award, and Susan Lundin, a Springfield College trustee who lives in Longmeadow, Mass., will receive the college's Tarbell Medallion.
