Head baseball coach Cary McConnell will serve as the Interim Director of Athletics for Suffolk University for the 2013-2014 academic year. McConnell will be replacing Jim Nelson, who had previously held the position for 47 years.

“He left such big shoes to fill. He was such a good athletic director for so many years.” McConnell said when asked if replacing Nelson was going to be a challenge. “I’m excited about the challenge. You want to do a good job, and at heart I’m still a coach, so it’s part coach part administrator, so I’d like to be successful. I want our teams to be successful.”

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, McConnell graduated from the College of Wooster, where he also played baseball. During his time at Wooster obtaining his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, working with different departments such as a resident hall director, he knew he enjoyed the higher-end positions. From there, he went to the University of Rochester and became the head coach there while also attending graduate school, obtaining his Master’s Degree in Educational Administration. McConnell replaced Joe Walsh, the former head baseball coach at Suffolk University in 1996.

McConnell plans to keep his same work ethic that he brought to his baseball team for the past 18 years to the office as athletic director. He plans to further the legacy left by Jim Nelson by continuing to network, recruit, and contact other facilities to allow access for Suffolk’s athletes.

“The bottom line is that people need to like you to give you their facilities,” said McConnell.

He feels that keeping the same level of respect for the athletes and the facilities that Nelson had will be a challenge, but it’s something he looks forward to achieving.

Although McConnell is only stepping in as an interim, he wants to make some changes that will last for the upcoming years. McConnell wants to make the experience for the student athletes as welcoming as possible.

“I want the teams to be successful,” said McConnell. “My focus is really on what is the experience for the student athlete: how can we improve that? How can we make that a top end, professional experience, something that attracts athletes into coming to Suffolk?”

During his time with Suffolk, he has won 453 contests, brought Suffolk to four NCAA Division III Championship Tournament appearances, and four Great Northeast Athletic Conference titles, one of which included a championship in 2000. McConnell was inducted into the Suffolk University Athletic Hall of Fame last May for that championship year.

When asked if he would want to continue as the director, he said “It’s a challenge, but challenges are always fun.”