Ferrum College announces John Sutyak will be its new director of athletics. Sutyak is the former director of athletics and recreation at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts“I am pleased that John Sutyak will be joining our leadership team at Ferrum College. Athletics has played an important role at the College for years, and we are all looking forward to the next chapter under John’s leadership,” said Ferrum College President David Johns.
“As a former Ferrum College athlete, I am thrilled to have someone with John’s broad experience and background as Ferrum’s next athletic director,” said Vice President of Institutional Advancement and External Relations Wilson Paine. “John’s passion for college athletics and his commitment to supporting our student-athletes and coaches makes him the perfect fit to lead our athletics department and build on Ferrum’s rich history in athletics.”
After a national search, Sutyak arrives at Ferrum College with experience steeped in collegiate athletics. His career began in a dual role as the assistant sports information director and area coordinator in residential life at Wheaton College from July 2002 to August 2003. He then spent three years working in athletic facilities and varsity sports operations at Yale University before returning to Wheaton in July 2006 as the assistant director of athletics. He eventually became the associate director of athletics and assumed the role of director of athletics and recreation in April 2012.
During his eight-year stint as Wheaton College’s director of athletics, the college saw significant growth of donors and contributions to Wheaton’s Lyons Athletic Club. Sutyak was also involved in the development and construction of the first artificial surface athletic field, a $3.8 million project. Under his tenure, Wheaton’s athletic teams qualified for 33 NCAA championship events and won 16 New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) regular season and conference titles, highlighted by baseball’s run to the national championship game in 2012, four top-10 finishes by the women’s track and field program, and regional championships by softball in 2015 and baseball in 2017. Sutyak also served six years on the NEWMAC Executive Committee, including a two-year term as president, and was the New England Chair of the NCAA Division III Softball Committee from 2008 to 2012. Outside of collegiate athletics, he has worked at Gillette Stadium during New England Patriots home games since 2002, working both with the Patriots media relations team and the National Football League on its Player Participation crew.
“I am extremely excited and humbled to be named director of athletics at Ferrum College. The moment I stepped foot on campus, I immediately felt at home and sensed that Ferrum is a very special place,” said Sutyak. “I am looking forward to working with student-athletes, coaches, faculty, and staff to continue the proud tradition of Ferrum College athletes. Our goal as a Division III institution will be to work toward providing all our student-athletes with a first-class experience, on and off the playing surface, while simultaneously striving to compete for conference championships.”
A native of Scarborough, Maine, Sutyak received his Bachelor of Arts in history from Wheaton College in May 2000. In 2002, he earned a Master of Education in athletic administration from Springfield College. During graduate school, he served as an assistant baseball coach at Western New England University during the 2001 and 2002 seasons, where he played a part in the team’s first Great Northwest Atlantic Conference (GNAC) championship and first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2001. At Scarborough High School, he was a two-sport athlete (baseball and basketball) and a finalist for the Maine Mr. Baseball Award in 1996. A former four-year baseball player for the Wheaton Lyons, he was a member of the college’s first varsity baseball team in 1997, the program’s first two NEWMAC championship teams in 1999 and 2000, and a part of its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2000. He also tied the NCAA record for home runs in one inning with two against the University of Southern Maine in 1998.
Sutyak will assume his role at Ferrum College on January 1, 2020.
