Susan Cassidy-Lyke, Molloy University
Susan Cassidy-Lyke has made positive contributions to Division II as a student-athlete, coach, and administrator. A member of Molloy's Hall of Fame, she hit over .400 on the softball field and shot 34% from the floor for the basketball team, helping to have her inducted to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame.
Cassidy-Lyke has dedicated her professional life to service, spending 20 years with the NYPD. She retired with the rank of Captain before returning to Molloy. Molloy has seen tremendous growth since her return in 2006, adding eight sports, including five for women. Under her tutelage, the Lions have won 19 conference championships and four regional championships and have appeared in 23 NCAA tournaments.
Under Cassidy-Lyke's leadership, Molloy student-athletes have demonstrated a commitment to local communities, helping Molloy earn numerous service based awards. Student-athletes have also seen increased success in their performance in the classroom since her arrival, consistently raising the department's GPA. For the past two years, Molloy has won the ECC Commissioner's Cup, awarded to the league's top program.
Cassidy-Lyke is always willing to serve the Division in any way possible. As an administrator, she has served as the Secretary, Vice President, and President of the ECC AD Council, is a regular on the East RAC for multiple sports, and currently serves on the softball National Committee and Head Coaches Connection. She has been a site rep for a multitude of regional and national championships and has spent time on both the NCAA Nominating and DII Softball Rules Committees, as well a member of the Board of Directors for D2ADA.
In addition to being the Director of Athletics, Cassidy-Lyke is also the most successful softball coach in Molloy's history. In nearly 20 years, she has recorded over 500 wins, appeared in seven NCAA Tournaments, won three East Region Championships, and won five ECC Coach of the Year Awards. She has coached 52 All-Region Selections and 10 All- Americans. Cassidy-Lyke's inception, Molloy has become a perennial powerhouse in the East Region softball scene.
Cassidy-Lyke is involved in the University's outreach and mission, consistently representing the institution for enrollment and fundraising based initiatives, solidifying Molloy's stature as a successful DII institution. Molloy's campus limitations require Cassidy-Lyke to work diligently to navigate relationships with local governments in order to ensure that Molloy student-athletes have safe and welcoming off-campus venues, enabling them not only to compete, but to do so at the highest NCAA Division II level.
Cassidy-Lyke is also a driver for student participation in community relations, campus events, and the well-being of the surrounding community. Her presence and mentorship empowers her student-athletes, coaches, and staff to operate both with the highest level of character and success, as evident by Molloy's growth since her arrival. Cassidy-Lyke is a champion of Division II and embodies both the pillars and priorities that Division II stands for. For nearly 20 years, student-athletes at Molloy have had her example, service, and leadership to guide both the student and athlete that they want to emulate.
Dr. Robert Dranoff, East Coast Conference
Robert J. Dranoff has served as Commissioner of the East Coast Conference since June 2008. His career in Athletics began in 1978, where he served as Assistant Director of Athletics at St. John's University (N.Y.) before becoming Director of Athletics at SUNY Old Westbury, followed by a stint at Dowling College where he was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame.
Under Dranoff's leadership, the ECC added championship tournaments in men's and women's lacrosse and soccer, and added championships in the sports of indoor and outdoor track and field, women's bowling, men's volleyball, and eSports. The ECC has been recognized for its support of TEAM Impact, Make-A-Wish, and Special Olympics and has implemented student-athlete leadership programming as well as member institution coaches and staff programming.
Dranoff, who has spent nearly 30 years of his college athletics career in Division II, has beeninstrumental in the development of conference awards, grant opportunities, and the ECC Hall of Fame. Although the ECC lost some members (LIU Post, Dowling, NYIT, and most recently University of Bridgeport), Dranoff actively pursued growth as the conference added University of the District of Columbia, Roberts Wesleyan, Daemen, College of Staten Island, and D'Youville.
Dranoff is a champion in addressing diversity and equity. He organized a conference town hall on social justice during the national unrest related to the George Floyd murder. The town hall was open to all member institution's students, staff, and guests. Through his efforts, the ECC has established a partnership with the organization RISE, which provides education and support in the areas of Diversity and Social Justice. Half of the Directors of Athletics in the ECC are female, and all SWAs are actively involved in Conference leadership roles. Dranoff wholeheartedly supported membership of the University of the District of Columbia, an HBCU, into the ECC in 2011.
In addition to Dranoff's outstanding support and leadership, he has been actively involved in NCAA committee work having served on several Regional Advisory Committees, the DII Championship Committee, Planning and Finance, and chaired the DII Membership Committee as well as serving on the DII Management Council.
Dranoff is also active in his community by presenting courses on youth violence and bullying issues and serves on several advisory boards including the High School for Sport Management, Team IMPACT, Youth Enrichment Services and St. John's University Sports Management. He serves as an adjunct professor in Sport Management at St. John's University and St. Joseph's College.
Brian Sweeney, Mercy University
Brian Sweeney was a four-year member of the Mercy College baseball team from 1993-96 and is a member of the Athletics Hall of Fame. Sweeney is Mercy's all-time leader in complete games, while being second in strikeouts (192). He also ranks fourth in career innings pitched (224.1), seventh in starts (31), and is tied for eighth in wins (nine).
Sweeney was named the Pitching Coach of the Kansas City Royals after spending the last five seasons on the Cleveland Guardians staff, including the last three as their bullpen coach. He joined Cleveland in 2018 after working in Philadelphia's player development system for three seasons. He was named bullpen coach in 2020 and guided Guardian relievers to a 6.6 fWAR in 2022, ranking second in the American League. Sweeney pitched professionally for 19 seasons and spent parts of four years (2003-04, '06 and '10) in the Major Leagues between stints with the Padres and Mariners.
Dr. Richard Wettan, Queens College
A former student-athlete in the 1960s who competed in several varsity sports, Dr. Richard Wettan is a graduate of Queens College. While working on his master's degree, he was appointed as a lecturer and track coach at Queens College. After earning his doctorate from Ohio State in 1970, Doc was appointed to Assistant Professor, teaching sport history and sport sociology, and also took over coaching soccer.
After being appointed Director of Athletics in 1978, he would rebuild Queens College into becoming the first City University of New York (CUNY) College to transition from Division III to Division II in 1982. During his tenure, the athletic program grew significantly with facilities being upgraded, new programs and staff being added, teams winning conference titles and participating in ECAC and NCAA postseason championships, and student-athletes succeeding in the classroom.
In 1988, Dr. Wettan was instrumental in the creation of the NYCAC (now East Coast Conference), working with Vin Salamone in 1988 to create the NY metro area athletic conference for DII schools. He was named the conference's first president that year and held many leadership roles on committees for the conference over the years. For the past 40-plus years along with Dr. Wettan's vision, Queens College has remained the only Division II program inside the CUNY system and is one of three founding members from the ECC (formerly NYCAC) to still be part of the conference to date.
An individual with an eye for the bigger picture, Dr. Wettan was ahead of his time as an entrepreneur. He led from the front with the creation of various revenue models that would help generate millions of dollars, including the success of the Queens College Summer Camp, which has been running for over 30 years. The funds generated from the business opportunities would help the department put value into the scholarship and help fund the necessary operations needed to run a successful Division II program.
