NEWS FROM THE HILL
ATHLETICS
ED HOCKENBURY NAMED NEW ATHLETIC DIRECTOR The Princeton grad and former high school coach kicks off his Cadets career in the wake of two giants— retiring Athletic Director Tony Mariano and his father, legendary basketball coach Ed Hockenbury Sr. BY DEREK DUNNING
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f, like Yogi Berra, the name Hockenbury feels like déjà vu all over again, welcome to the club. In December, Ed Hockenbury Jr., son of legendary former men’s basketball coach Ed Hockenbury Sr., was tapped to be the next leader of the NU Athletic Department. “The Hockenbury name is celebrated by the Norwich family and remembered with great fondness by the Northfield community,” says Dr. Mark Anarumo, NU President, of his choice to succeed Tony Marino, who is departing his post after 30 years as the director of athletics. “Ed is the perfect leader to help leverage athletics as an integral piece of the Norwich student experience.” A Northfield native, Hockenbury spent a big part of childhood at Norwich watching his dad coach and playing in Andrews Hall, Shapiro Fieldhouse, and Plumley. The chance to return home was always on his radar. When Pres. Anarumo called to offer him the job, he says he knew immediately it was the right fit at the right time. “It’s an honor to be selected for this position, and it’s not a duty that I take lightly in succeeding Tony with the success he’s had and the program he’s built here,” Hockenbury says. “This job is a big deal with a lot of responsibility, and there is a family name
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“ I’M A COMPETITIVE PERSON, AND WE’RE GOING TO FIGHT LIKE HELL TO TRY AND WIN.” here that is an important legacy that I want to continue to live up to.” An accomplished high school athlete, especially on the baseball diamond, Hockenbury played varsity baseball at Princeton. He later earned a spring training invite from the California Angels, where he caught four-time MLB All-Star and 2002 World Series champion Troy Percival. Hockenbury comes to Norwich from
UVM, where he spent the last six years as the associate athletic director for internal operations. He previously served 19 years as a high school athletic director at Essex and South Burlington High Schools. Hockenbury retains his life-long connection to baseball, coaching all three of his sons through Little League and also helping run the Bases Loaded Bulldogs travel baseball team in Williston, Vt.
