GENERAL INFORMATION
PROVIDENCE FRIARS
BOB DRISCOLL ATHLETIC DIRECTOR
Having completed his 19th season as Providence College’s Vice President and Athletics Director, Bob Driscoll has transformed and reinvigorated Providence College’s athletics program. He has established a vision of student-athlete success in the classroom and in the community while competing for championships. Driscoll maintains focus on leading, fostering and mentoring one of the nation’s most respected athletic programs. Over the past seven years, Driscoll has been the architect of one of the most successful eras in the history of Providence College athletics. The Friars continued their success during 2019-20, with the men’s soccer team advancing to the NCAA Third Round after posting a 16-7 overall record. It was the program’s fourth NCAA Tourmament bid in eight seasons under head coach Craig Stewart. The Men’s basketball team concluded the season as one of the hottest teams in the NCAA, winning its final six games with three coming against top-20 opponents. Abbey Wheeler of the women’s track and field team was named the USTFCCCA Northeast Region Women’s Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year after winning the 3,000 and 5,000-meter events at the BIG EAST Championships. Her mark in the 5,000-meter event qualified for the NCAA Championships. Over the course of the last decade, Providence College has enjoyed sustained success in addition to capturing multiple championships beginning with the 2013 women’s cross country team claiming the College’s second NCAA title. It continued with the men’s basketball team winning the 2014 BIG EAST Tournament title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament in five-consecutive seasons from 2014-18. The men’s hockey team made two Frozen Four appearances and six-consecutive NCAA Tournaments, including its first NCAA Championship with a dramatic, come-from-behind win over Boston University on April 11, 2015 at the TD Garden. It marked the College’s third NCAA team title and its first in a men’s sport. In 2020, Driscoll was recognized with the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association Builders’ Award. For the second time in his tenure, Driscoll was recognized as the Under Armour I-AAA Athletics Director of the Year at the 51st Annual National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) convention in June 2016. In June 2008, Driscoll also was named the 2007-08 Astro Turf Athletics Director of the Year for the Division I Northeast Region at the 43rd National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Annual Convention. The Friars also have excelled in the classroom, with Providence’s student-athletes combining for an average GPA of 3.37. After a school-record six Providence College athletic programs received Public Recognition Awards in 2014 as part of the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) program, three Friar teams earned the honor in 2015 and two teams, women’s swimming & diving and women’s tennis, earned recognition awards in 2016 and 2017. In 2018 and 2019, five programs earned recognition awards. Multiple Friar teams have been honored in each of the 15 years the NCAA has given out the Public Recognition Awards. Aside from excelling in the classroom and competing for championships, Driscoll’s student-athletes are very active in the local community. Last year alone, Friar student-athletes combined for 3,245 hours of community service at 145 events serving 33 organizations. The economic impact of those hours totaled $82,525. Providence was named a runner-up for the 2018 NACDA Community Service Award, earning $5,000 to donate to local charities. The Friars recently finished fifth overall in the NCAA Division I Team Works Community Service competition in 2020, with the volleyball, softball and lacrosse programs each finishing among the top-10 among their Division I counterparts in the sport specific standings. One of the biggest impacts Driscoll has had on the Providence College Athletics Department, and the College as a whole, has been with facility development, construction and renovation. Construction of Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium was completed in 2015, where the men’s and women’s soccer and men’s lacrosse programs play. The college also built a new softball complex, known as Glay Field, in addition to building six tennis courts adjacent to Anderson Stadium. He also oversaw the 2013 renovation of Schneider Arena – home of the Friar men’s and women’s hockey teams. In August 2018, construction was completed on the $35 million Ruane Friar Development Center — a men’s basketball training and recruiting facility. The 58,218 square foot Friar Ruane Development Center also houses the athletic department’s Innovation Lab – a state-of-the-art facility that is available to each 2020-21 PROVIDENCE COLLEGE MEN’S SOCCER • 4
