Providence College Athletics

Associate Vice President/Athletics Director Robert G. Driscoll, Jr.

Having completed his 18th 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 six 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 2018-19, with the men’s basketball team’s seventh-consecutive post season appearance (five NCAA appearances). 

Men’s hockey continued its run with its sixth-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and sixth-consecutive 20-plus win season under Head Coach Nate Leaman.  The Friars advanced to their second Frozen Four in the last five years after having won the NCAA Championship in 2015. Brianna Ilarda won the 5,000 meters at the BIG EAST Championships and was named Most Outstanding Track Performer.  She also won the Steeplechase at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championship.  Also, Millie Paladino won the 3,000 meters at the BIG EAST Indoor Championships.

Providence College ranked 131st in the final Learfield Directors’ Cup standings, finishing 12th among NCAA Division I non-FBS/FCS institutions and fourth among BIG EAST Conference members. The Friars picked up a total of 119.50 points. The men’s hockey program picked up the most points for the Friars (83) by virtue of its run to the NCAA Frozen Four.

This impressive run kicked off when the 2013 women’s cross country team claimed the College’s second NCAA Championship. It continued with the men’s basketball team winning the 2014 BIG EAST Tournament title and advanced to the 2014 and 2015 NCAA Tournaments. The men’s hockey team made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances (2014 and 2015) for the first time in program history before claiming 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. 

For the second time in his tenure, Driscoll was recognized as the Under Armour I-AAA Athletics Director of the Year at the 51stAnnual 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 3.22. 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, five programs earned recognition awards. Multiple Friar teams have been honored in each of the 14 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 3,547 hours of community service, raising $49,500 for various charities. Over the past three years, Providence student-athletes have raised $109,214. Providence was named a runner-up for the 2018 NACDA Community Service Award, earning $5,000 to donate to local charities. 

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 was completed in the fall of 2015 to build Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium, where the men’s and women’s soccer and men’s lacrosse programs play, as well as a new softball field and tennis courts. He also oversaw the 2013 renovation of the College’s 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 of our 350+ NCAA Division I student-athletes.  The lab is part of the overall Sports Medicine Department, with a primary focus on rest and recovery.

Kicking off Driscoll’s vision for the improved athletic facilities footprint at Providence College, the Concannon Fitness Center, opened in August of 2007, adjacent to Lennon Family Field (Astroturf facility), which was completed in August 2005. A new Astroturf surface was installed on Lennon Family Field in the summer of 2017 in addition to a new videoboard in the summer of 2018. 

Other facility upgrades that have highlighted Driscoll’s tenure include an $80-million renovation of the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, which serves as the home venue for Friars men’s basketball. The project was the result of Driscoll working strategically with lead officials in the City of Providence and the State of Rhode Island. The renovations enhanced the game-day experience by adding 20 luxury boxes, new seats, a video scoreboard, sound system, updated restaurant and concession stands, team store, locker rooms and new weight training/fitness areas. These renovations have enabled Providence College to serve as host for the First and Second Rounds of the 2010, 2016, and the future 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. 

Driscoll established the athletic fundraising philosophy and department that has been instrumental in making program upgrades possible. He and his staff have exceeded fundraising goals on a yearly basis, eclipsing $7-million in cash donations during the 2018-19 fiscal calendar. The additional revenue remains critical to building and supporting championship programs and providing the best opportunities to Providence College’s student-athletes. The funds Driscoll and his staff raise help directly support all 19 of Providence College’s Division I programs, the Friars Forever Fund and capital projects. 

In the past, Driscoll has served as the President of the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association. He also has served as First Vice President and Second Vice President for the organization.  Additionally, Driscoll represents the BIG EAST’s athletic directors on the Student-Athlete Advisory Council, serves as a mentor for the Division I-AAA mentoring program and serves on the Hockey East Television Negotiations and Marketing Committees. He previously served on the NCAA Division I Management Council, the NCAA Ice Hockey Championship Committee (Chair 2010-11) and was the Chair of the BIG EAST Athletic Directors in 2011-12. Driscoll also was an NCAA Fellows Programs Executive Mentor. Currently, Driscoll serves on the BIG EAST Finance Committee with the league’s other presidents and also is a Chair for the Hockey East Board of Directors.

Driscoll joined the Providence community after 14½ years in athletic administration at the University of California, Berkeley, culminating in serving as the Acting Executive Director for Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreational Sports. 

Driscoll was hired at Cal as the Associate Athletic Director for Student Services, a position he held for five years. He then assumed the position of Executive Associate Athletic Director, at which point he was responsible for the administration of 27 varsity sports, a staff of 250 and a $36 million budget. Prior to coming to Providence, he served as the Acting Executive Director for Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreational Sports. During his tenure, Cal won over 20 national championships and competed in the Citrus, Copper, Alamo and Aloha Bowls. The Bears also finished as high as 12th in the NACDA Directors’ Cup. 

Before arriving at Cal, Driscoll served six years (1981-87) as the Athletic Director and Chair of the Department of Physical Education, Recreation and Intramural Sports at Mills College in Oakland, Calif.  Prior to Mills, Driscoll was Assistant Athletic Director and Head Baseball and Hockey Coach at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y. from 1977-81. Driscoll played hockey, where he was captain and team MVP for three-consecutive years, and baseball at Ithaca College (N.Y.). He received a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education in 1974 and his Master of Science in physical education/psychology of sports from Ithaca in 1975.

A native of West Concord, Mass., Driscoll was inducted into the inaugural class of Concord-Carlisle High School’s Athletic Hall of Fame (football, ice hockey and baseball) in 1993. He was also inducted into the 50thAnniversary Class of Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019. He and his wife Cathy have three grown children.