Longtime Hofstra athletics administrator Cindy Lewis proud to see growth of women's sports since her playing days

 Courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications
In the mid to late 1970’s when Hofstra’s Senior Associate Director of Athletics Cindy Lewis played field hockey and lacrosse at Berner High School in Massapequa, N.Y. and then for Hofstra, the climate of female sports was a very different story from where it is today. Lewis’s playing career came in the midst of America’s groundbreaking Title IX legislation being implemented, to ensure that female athletes had the same opportunities as their male counterparts, and the longtime Hofstra athletics administrator recalls how slow a process this was.

Today Lewis is happy to see that female athletics is thriving at Hofstra and throughout the country, and that the early days of Title IX’s implementation are becoming more and more distant. On Sept. 20 Lewis was honored at the 22nd annual Hofstra Pride Golf Classic and Auction for her 30 years of dedicated service to Hofstra’s athletics program, which has included helping to position the  women’s sports programs to be able to compete at the highest level. The golf classic is Hofstra’s signature fundraising event for the university’s athletics department, and this year in honor of Lewis the proceeds were used to benefit the school’s Women’s Athletic Fund. 

Former Hofstra men's lacrosse All American James Metzger to be honored for his charitable contributions

 Courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications

In recent years former standout Hofstra men’s lacrosse player James Metzger has made significant contributions to Pride athletics including gifts that enabled locker room facility enhancements and the creation of The Hallway Traditions Project in Margiotta Hall. The former NCAA All American attackman will be recognized for his charitable work beyond Hofstra later this month when he will be one of two honorees at the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island (BBBSLI) 2010 Presidential Gala.

Metzger, who is chief executive officer of The Whitmore Group in Garden City, N.Y., was first introduced to BBBSLI by former Hofstra men’s lacrosse players E. David Woycik and Mark Cox, the chief development officer for the charitable organization. Metzger along with fellow Hofstra alumnus Andrew F. Corrado, who is market president for Capital One Bank in Nassau County, will be honorees at the BBBSLI’s Presidential Gala on Sept. 23 at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, N.Y. BBBSLI provides volunteer mentors to children who are in need of an additional positive, caring adult in their lives.

“Long Island has given me so much and I felt it was time that I give back,” said Metzger, a graduate of Half Hollow Hills High School in Dix Hills, N.Y. and a 1983 Hofstra alumnus, of his decision to become involved with BBBSLI. “It is compelling for me to be involved with this charity.”

Metzger now lives in Manhattan but Long Island has remained a huge cornerstone of his life, and running a company in Garden City has enabled convenient access to his passion for Hofstra athletics and the university as a whole. In addition to his contributions to Pride athletics Metzger also has funded a summer internship within the university's Center for Civic Engagement in honor of longtime Hofstra History Professor Michael D’Innocenzo. Metzger was also a platinum sponsor for an event this past February that raised funds for Hofstra student scholarships called “Night of the Broadway Stars”, which honored his former high school and college lacrosse teammate Joseph Corcoran, co-founder of TheaterMania.com.

“My time at Hofstra was invaluable,” said Metzger of why he has chosen to give so much back to his alma mater. “I attribute a great deal of my success in business to my athletic background, particularly the time I spent playing lacrosse at Hofstra.”

“Jim Metzger’s leadership and generosity have been instrumental to our athletics program,” said Hofstra Athletic Director Jack Hayes. “He cares about the student-athletes and he knows that athletic success is an important public relations tool for promoting the University.”

One major regret Metzger has is that he only played two years of lacrosse at Hofstra. After his All-American sophomore season in 1980, where he scored 21 goals and tallied 28 assists in just 10 games, Metzger decided to end his lacrosse career. As the years went on Metzger wished he had played his final two years at Hofstra and often speaks to young athletes about how they should make the most of their opportunities when they are young.

“As a 50-year old guy I’d love to have that eligibility back,” he said.

After giving up the sport he grew up with following the 1980 season, Metzger went the next 25 years without even watching a lacrosse game of any kind. He then got brought back into following the sport thanks to the resurgence of his nephew Rob Pannell, who was an All American at Smithtown West High School and is now a star attackman at Cornell. Metzger is now an avid follower of both the Hofstra men's and women's lacrosse programs and attends nearly every home game.

Since becoming heavily involved supporting his alma mater Metzger has developed close relationships with Hayes and Hofstra men’s lacrosse head coach Seth Tierney, who will both be attending the Sept. 23 BBBSLI event honoring him. Metzger is proud of the recent accomplishments Hofstra has seen both on and off the field and is excited to see even greater strides in the coming years.

“I look forward to the continued growth of the university and the continued enhancement of the brand,” said Metzger. “I’m a proud alumnus and I’ll continue to support the university in a number of ways.”

Breaking down Hofstra men's lacrosse's NCAA at-large chances

Despite not qualifying for the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament the Hofstra men’s lacrosse team is very much in the mix to receive an NCAA Tournament at-large bid when the 16-team field is announced Sunday night.

In the latest NCAA RPI rankings released Monday Hofstra (9-4) was 13th, the highest in the CAA.  More importantly Hofstra has four wins over teams ranked in the RPI top 20 in Johns Hopkins (12), Towson (14), Army (17) and Brown (19), a major criteria considered by the selection committee. Hofstra should also receive help by the fact that the CAA is the second highest ranked automatic bid conference (six teams or more), behind only the Ivy League.

Hofstra Athletic Director Jack Hayes, a member of the NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament selection committee from 2006-2008, said the fact that Hofstra did not make the CAA Tournament will have little bearing on whether the Pride receive a bid. “There is nothing in the criteria that mentions anything about going to a conference tourney,” said Hayes. “I don’t think not making the conference tournament will impact us very much.”

A Q & A with Hofstra Athletic Director Jack Hayes

Jack Hayes enters his sixth year as Hofstra University’s director of athletics extremely optimistic that the Pride sports teams he oversees are on their way to successful 2009/2010 seasons thanks to the return of several Colonial Athletic Association award winners. Hayes sat down with “Inside the Pride” to discuss how the Hofstra athletics program is faring during these challenging economic times, recent facility improvements that have been undertaken and his vision to bring NCAA men’s and women’s lacrosse championship events to Shuart Stadium on a regular basis.

Inside the Pride: What has been your most proud accomplishment since being named Hofstra athletic director five years ago?
Jack Hayes: The men and women that have come to Hofstra for athletics continue to be happy about their experience here. This is a result of coaches that we have, facilities that we have built or enhanced, schedules that we have put together for our programs and academic support that we have been able to provide. I think it is a combination of a lot of different things but it is my most proud accomplishment that the students who graduate are happy with their experience at Hofstra.

Inside the Pride: How has the downturn in the U.S economy affected Hofstra athletics and what steps have been done to try and combat these challenging conditions?
Jack Hayes: It has affected all athletics programs at all schools. Our fundraising numbers the last few years have increased and our development staff and our coaches, who are all so involved in the fundraising effort, have done an outstanding job. But we have had to look at how we operate on a day-to-day basis, what teams we play, where we travel and I don’t think that is any different than what any other school has gone through.

Inside the Pride: What role do facilities rentals to outside groups play in creating revenue for the athletics program?
Jack Hayes: Our facilities rentals are an important part of how we generate revenue for athletics. That really has not changed as we continue to do that, but there are certain times of the year where it is very difficult to do it. You don’t want to do it in a way that impacts our current student-athletes and our coaches so a lot of that is done over the summer, over vacation periods, but we do it whenever we can.

Inside the Pride: Talk about some of the facilities enhancements that have been made recently?