By JUSTIN RIMPI
Sports Editor
The six-month search for a director of athletics has come to an end as the Fairleigh Dickinson University Knights named Bradford D. Hurlbut to the Metropolitan campus position earlier today.
Hurlbut, 56, is currently serving as deputy director of athletics at Fairfield, Conn.’s Sacred Heart University, a Northeast Conference foe of the Knights since 2013.
Hurlbut is taking over the department after interim athletic director Cathy Liggett served in the position since July following the retirement of David Langford. Langford led the department for 15 years and was the Knights’ sixth full-time Director of Athletics.
Prior to coming to Sacred Heart, Hurlbut spent time working in the West Coast Conference commissioner’s office, after a 17-year stint on the executive athletics team at Northwestern University.
A national search was conducted with Greg Santore of Odgers Berndtson, a New York-based executive search firm, along with Rick Reiss, FDU’s senior vice president for advancement.
Steve Hurlbut, the brother of new Director of Athletics Brad Hurlbut held the same position at FDU spanning 1998-2002. This is the first-time that two brothers have both been a Director of Athletics at the same institution.
Hurlbut, who holds a bachelor’s degree in managerial economics from Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio, will begin his new role on Feb. 18, 2019.
Fairleigh Dickinson Metropolitan campus has eight men’s and 11 women’s NCAA sanctioned teams competing in Division 1. The women’s bowling team has won two national titles in 2006 and 2010. respectively. The men’s basketball team has reached the NCAA Tournament five times in the history of the program (1985, 1988, 1998, 2005 and 2016).
The largest private university in New Jersey, FDU Metro has approximately 200 athletes, and a $12M yearly budget, according to the College Factual ranking service.
Questions the Equinox would have for Hurlbut:
1. Do you believe you are better equipped as the new athletic director of FDU being in the NEC the past several years and having to face off against FDU in numerous sports?
2. How do you believe your experience at Northwestern, Sacred Heart, and most recently, being the the chair of the Division I NCAA Men’s Golf Committee since 2015, has prepared you to be the best AD possible?
3. What will you do differently than your predecessors to raise the athletic profile of FDU?
4. Did you speak to David Langford, the previous athletic director, about any advice he may have regarding leading the Knights Athletic Department?
5. What are some things on your agenda as it pertains to FDU athletics, is there anything that comes to mind as a glaring need for the Athletic Department which must be addressed?
Please stay tuned as the Equinox is looking to interview Hurlbut to see what his vision is for FDU athletics in the coming years.
Additional content for this article was obtained from the press release by Bryan Jackson dated January 30, 2019.
