Matthew Glovaski was named Iona University's 10th Director of Athletics on May 8, 2018, and enters his eighth year as AD and 21st as an athletics administrator at Iona in 2025-26.
AS DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS:
Glovaski’s tenure as Director of Athletics has been defined by comprehensive excellence in competition, academics, strategic growth, and student-athlete support. Entering his eighth year in 2025-26, he oversees the largest student-athlete population in school history, with more than 500 competing across 26 NCAA Division I programs.
Competitive Success
Under Glovaski’s leadership, Iona has captured 21 MAAC Championships and eight regular-season titles in sports that award them, along with 29 national championship appearances by teams or individuals.
Men’s cross country secured eight consecutive MAAC titles during his tenure, extending its conference championship streak to an NCAA-record 35 straight. Women’s cross country captured four consecutive MAAC championships from 2018-2021. Men’s soccer earned the first two MAAC Championships in program history in 2019 and 2024. Volleyball won its second MAAC title in 2018. Men’s basketball claimed championships in 2019, 2021, and 2023, while women’s basketball secured its second MAAC crown in 2023. Men’s golf added league titles in 2019 and 2021.
Academic Excellence and Community Impact
Iona student-athletes have consistently excelled in the classroom, recording department-wide GPAs above 3.00 across multiple semesters and placing a record number of student-athletes on the MAAC Academic Honor Roll. In the community, Gael student-athletes contribute nearly 7,500 hours of service annually, reflecting the department’s commitment to leadership and engagement.
Program Growth and Sport Additions
Glovaski has strategically expanded Iona’s varsity offerings, increasing opportunities for student-athletes and enhancing the department’s competitive profile. During his tenure, Iona added men’s lacrosse, women’s acrobatics and tumbling, and women’s golf, while reinstating men’s and women’s tennis for the first time since 2003. Acrobatics and tumbling was introduced as an emerging sport and earned NCAA championship status beginning in 2026-27.
To support this growth, Glovaski has overseen significant facility development. Enhancements at the Hynes Athletics Center include a six-million-dollar transformational renovation featuring upgrades to seating, lighting, sound, flooring, infrastructure, and scoreboards, along with the creation of the Arrigoni Hall of Excellence. Additional improvements include expansion of the varsity weight room, installation of a fueling station to support student-athlete nutrition, renovated administrative and basketball office space, a new conference room and film room, and upgraded men’s and women’s basketball locker rooms. On the Bronxville Campus, new and enhanced training and competition spaces were developed for acrobatics and tumbling, baseball, golf, and the reinstated tennis programs at the Meyer Athletic Center and Schoenfeld Gym.
Institutional and Conference Leadership
Glovaski serves as Chair of the MAAC Committee on Athletic Administration for the 2025-26 academic year, helping guide conference-wide policy and collaboration among member institutions.
Fundraising Success
Under Glovaski’s leadership, Iona Athletics has achieved record levels of philanthropic support and donor engagement. The department’s Five to Fight campaign in 2025 set a new benchmark with 959 donors, the highest total in program history, raising dollars to support student-athlete scholarships, facility enhancements, and program resources. The campaign included multiple donor-sponsored challenge matches and broad-based support across several sports, reflecting strong alumni and community investment in Gael Athletics.
Name, Image, and Likeness Leadership
Glovaski has positioned Iona Athletics at the forefront of the evolving Name, Image, and Likeness landscape. Iona partnered with Opendorse to launch the Gael NIL Marketplace, providing student-athletes with a platform to build personal profiles, connect with businesses and supporters, and secure NIL opportunities. The platform also delivers education in compliance, financial literacy, and personal branding to prepare student-athletes for long-term success.
In addition, the Gaels Nation NIL Collective works in partnership with alumni, supporters, and businesses to create Impact, Opportunity, Navigation, and Access for student-athletes. The collective is designed to maximize direct support to student-athletes while strengthening engagement between Gaels and the broader community.
AS ATHLETICS ADMINISTRATOR:
On February 1, 2017, Vice President for Athletic Administration Rick Cole Jr. announced Glovaski’s appointment as Deputy Director of Athletics after he served as Senior Associate Athletic Director for Advancement & External Affairs since 2013. In that role, he acted as the department’s chief revenue generator and led the Iona University Goal Club, the fundraising arm supporting the Gaels’ varsity programs.
Previously, Glovaski served as the lead administrator for Internal Affairs, managing the department’s budget and daily fiscal operations while overseeing team travel, transportation, strength and conditioning, facilities operations, and staff payroll.
He began his tenure in New Rochelle in 2005-06 as Assistant AD for Recreation and Intramurals, overseeing day-to-day operations of the Hynes Athletics Center along with campus recreation and intramural programs.
PRIOR TO IONA UNIVERSITY:
Glovaski came to New Rochelle from Harvard University, where he worked for a year and a half in Athletic Operations, gaining extensive experience in event management on the Cambridge campus.
In the summer of 2005, he served as director of operations for the Boston Lobsters of World Team Tennis. During the 2003-04 academic year, he was an assistant varsity baseball coach and head JV coach at his alma mater, Springfield College.
AS HEAD GOLF COACH
Glovaski served six years as Iona’s head golf coach. At the 2011 MAAC Golf Championships, he was named MAAC Coach of the Year after leading the Gaels to a runner-up finish, their best since 2003. The program earned another second-place finish in 2013, with three student-athletes receiving All-MAAC honors.
His teams recorded four top-five finishes in 2013 and five in 2011, including top-four finishes in four of five tournaments during the spring 2011 season.
PERSONAL
A 2001 graduate of Springfield College, Glovaski earned a bachelor’s degree in English and Secondary Education and later a master’s degree in Athletics Administration from Springfield. A four-year letterwinner in baseball, he was a 1999 All-Conference selection and ranks tenth all-time in career victories at the institution.
A native of Trumbull, Connecticut, Glovaski resides in Newtown with his wife, Christy, and their sons, Thomas, Grayson, and Nicolas.
