2009-10 st. bonaventure women’s basketball
support staff
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Passion for and loyalty to St. Bonaventure were among the themes athletics director Steve Watson emphasized during his introductory press conference on Dec. 13, 2006. Watson has more than lived up to those traits, making his mark in the Atlantic 10 Conference, the St. Bonaventure athletic department and on campus in three short years. Since joining the St. Bonaventure family, Watson hired the 19th men’s basketball coach in Mark Schmidt and just a few months later organized the construction on what is now “Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center.” More recently, Watson has organized several upgrades to the RC, including the renovation of Steve Watson the men’s basketball locker room. The athletic programs have also thrived on the court, field and in the pool under Watson’s guidance. In 2008-09, the men’s and women’s basketball programs combined for a school record 38 wins. The women’s program became the first Big 4 team to host a postseason game, welcoming BIG EAST foes West Virginia and South Florida to the Reilly Center for WNIT contests. The women’s soccer program made its second-ever A-10 postseason appearance, while both the men’s swimming and diving team, and men’s tennis team finished second in the conference. Watson’s demand for academic excellence has also been well received, as St. Bonaventure has boasted eight Academic All-Americans and four A-10 Scholar Athletes of the Year over his two full years. As a whole, St. Bonaventure student-athletes have achieved over a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average (GPA) over the last two years. Within the A-10, Watson serves on both the Finance Committee and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Watson was also recently named to the new NCAA Amateurism Cabinet that is responsible for all pre- and post-enrollment amateurism issues. Watson has also made an immediate impact across campus, serving on several committees within the St. Bonaventure community, including the Senior Management Council and the Athletics Hall of Fame Committee. Watson recently served as the Chair of the University campaign for the United Way and is currently the Co-Chair of the United Way of Cattaraugus County. Prior to his arrival at St. Bonaventure, Watson was the associate athletics director at Eastern Michigan since 2002. Before that appointment, he was the assistant athletics director for facilities and operations at Eastern Michigan from July 2001 to August 2002. Prior to his stint with the Eagles, Watson worked at the University of Dayton from 1999-2001 as director of marketing and promotions; and at the University of Georgia as a marketing assistant from 1998-1999. Among his professional accomplishments, Watson helped quadruple corporate sponsorships during his tenure at Dayton and enjoyed a 95 percent success rate in retaining corporate sponsors there; was responsible for administrative oversight for 12 of Eastern Michigan’s 21 sports programs; and led a new external operations leadership group that coordinated media and financial support programs for EMU. As a collegiate student-athlete, Watson played basketball at Rutgers for two seasons before transferring to Bowling Green, where he also played basketball and earned a bachelor’s degree in interpersonal and public communications in 1990. Watson earned a master’s degree in sports administration from Ohio University in 1998. After college, the 6-foot-8 forward spent six years playing professional basketball in Europe and Asia. Watson, grew up in nearby Franklinville, N.Y., and graduated from Archbishop Walsh High School in Olean. Watson’s father, Dr. John Watson, has taught in St. Bonaventure’s School of Business since 1975 and served as the Vice President for Academic Affairs. He is currently the dean of the School of Business. His mother, Suzanne, has been a computer science lecturer at Bonaventure since 2001. Watson and his wife, Ann, reside in Allegany and have three children: Abby, 14, Allison, 11, and Jackson, 8.
Support Staff
Steve campbell
associate a.D. for Internal operations
Michelle kent
assistant a.D. for Academic Support
Melissa Mccombs athletic Trainer
Steve Mest
associate a.D. for external operations
Barb Questa
Senior Associate A.D.
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