Big doings at Merrimack College

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Merrimack College is having a quiet but great spring. First, their men’s head basketball coach, Joe Gallo, has decided to stay at the school for the long haul and signed a 10-year deal with the program through the 2034-35 season.

He graduated from the school in 2004 and has transitioned the basketball program from a Division II school to a Division I school. Since the 2019-20 season, the Warriors have an overall record of 100-79. They have also won three regular-season titles and a conference championship. They have also moved from the Northeast Conference, where their Division I journey began, to the Metro Atlantic Conference, where they are finishing their first year.

This season, the Warriors finished 18-15 overall and 14-6 in league play. That conference record was good enough for a #2 seed in the postseason conference tournament, where Merrimack made it to the semi-finals before losing to the league champs, Mount St. Mary, 57-55. Merrimack spent five years in the Northeast Conference, where they won three regular-season titles in 2019-20, 2022-23, and 2023-24. They also won the conference tournament in 2022-23, but because of the reclassifications process, they were unable to take part in that year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Before coming back to his alma mater in 2015, Gallo spent time at Dartmouth College from 2010-2012, and at Robert Morris University from 2012-2015. He began his coaching career at Merrimack as an assistant back in 2005-09. In signing the deal, Gallo made it clear how happy he was in staying at the school. He also stated “There is still so much more to accomplish.”

The other big news at the school is a new Athletic Director, Joe Foley, and he is from Texas Christian University. The announcement was made on April 7, and he will take over on May 14. He has been at TCU since 2022, serving as an assistant vice chancellor for development and senior assistant athletic director. At TCU, Foley worked in many areas of fundraising. In recent years, the school saw a jump in totals of athletic giving and new records for tickets and licensing revenues.

Foley has a solid resume in this area. Having done this at Penn State University, the University of Maryland, the University of Richmond, Ohio University, and Boston College. One reason for Joe Foley to take the job at Merrimack is its potential and opportunities that lie ahead for the school. Foley is looking forward to pursuing comprehensive excellence and championship-caliber experiences for Merrimack’s student athletes.

No doubt, with these two moves, there is a buzz around North Andover about Merrimack College sports.