Hutchinson, Sgaramella, Wujciak promoted as athletics department creates new positions

By Steven Merrill | Published by October 12, 2020

Kean University has expanded its athletic department with the creation of two positions, Director of Athletics Kelly Williams has announced. Adam Hutchinson and Jay Sgaramella have been promoted to Assistant Director of Internal Affairs & Student-Athlete Development and Associate Director of Athletics, respectively. 

These announcements also come as Kean, like the rest of the New Jersey Athletic Conference, has canceled all of its fall sports due to the pandemic.

According to the release, Hutchinson’s new position will coordinate and develop a comprehensive development program for over 400 athletes currently in the athletic department.  In addition, he will have oversight of diversity and inclusion initiatives for the department, which has a  budget listed at $2.8 million, according to collegefactual.com. 

“I’ve been playing or coaching in Division III since 1989, and I’ve long been aware of the lack of diversity in the coaching ranks,” stated Hutchinson in the university’s release. “In 2016 I had a professional experience, which for me really highlighted the mechanisms that undergird the un-inclusive practices contributing to that lack of diversity. I’ve spent the years since searching for ways to address these issues, and increasingly concluding that an administrative position may offer an opportunity to contribute more meaningfully to something I think is important.”

Other duties include assisting with the oversight of internal business operations while developing policies and procedures that enhance the academic success and graduation of every student-athlete, according to the release. 

Hutchinson arrived at Kean before the 2018-19 season as the Head Men’s basketball coach and earned his 200th career win in February. His coaching experience includes coaching stops at four different schools. He is also currently the athletics diversity and inclusion designee for Kean.

Recently, Hutchinson led the campaign on behalf of the athletics department of Cougars registering to vote. He made sure each Kean student-athlete had all the information they needed. This has been a trend across all levels of athletics, encouraging athletes to make sure they are registered come election time. According to the NBA, 90% of its players are now registered, and 15 teams are 100% registered. 

“When the opportunity presented itself at Kean, after much internal struggle, I decided to pursue this new role and see if I could lend my voice and my efforts in new ways to improve the sport I’ve committed my professional life to,” he stated. 

Williams was hired by Kean in June, replacing Matt Caruso, who was promoted to Vice President of Student Affairs for the university by former Kean President Dawood Farahi.  It is unclear what the winter season will look like, but Williams will need to find a replacement for Hutchinson as head coach. 

“An announcement in the coming weeks will be made regarding the direction of the men’s basketball program,’ the release said. 

Sgaramella, a Kean alum, has worked in the athletics department since 2003. He was most recently Kean’s Assitant Director of Recreation, Intramurals, and Event Management. Sgaramella was inducted into the Kean Benisch Hall of Fame in 2017. 

“I would like to thank President Dr. Repollet and Athletic Director Kelly Williams for this opportunity,” stated Sgaramella in the university’s release. “I am honored and excited to further my career at Kean University, a place that I hold dear to my heart. Being a former student-athlete, I will continue to do whatever I can to improve our student-athletes’ experience and best assist every team in our department. I am proud to be a Kean Cougar.”

Kean Athletics also announced earlier this month that Denise Wujciak was promoted to the Director of Sports Medicine/Senior Woman Administrator. She is entering her 19th year at Kean and previously only held the titles of head athletic trainer and Senior Woman Administrator. 

According to the release, Wujciak’s responsibilities are not limited to the treatment of Kean’s student-athletes.  Her added responsibilities now include representing Kean University on various COVID-19 National Medical Advisory Groups, restructuring of the strength and conditioning programs to better serve our student-athletes, incorporating more collaborations with health, counseling, and drug and alcohol services throughout campus, and updating health and safety policies and procedures for our student-athletes.  

The newly created positions come five months after the university eliminated four academic programs and its professors, along with six managers, according to MyCentralJersey.com. The university said those cuts were due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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