By Frank Rizzo
LOCH SHELDRAKE — July 17, 2001 – Jack Mager’s reign as athletic director at Sullivan County Community College will end on August 31 of this year.
Mager gave notice to the college on Monday, July 9 after he received official notification of his appointment as physical education teacher at Vails Gate High Tech Magnet School, part of the Newburgh School District.
The athletic director since September, 1997, Mager will reduce his approximate 60-mile one-way commute to less than two miles. He lives in New Windsor.
“This is nothing against the college. I was trying to cut the commuting time,” Mager said recently while waiting for his new appointment to be officially approved. “This opportunity came and I pursued it.”
Mager found it ironic that he started working at the college level soon after graduation , which wa sin 1978 from Ashland (Ohio) University..
“My degree is in K-12 education,” he said.
Mager said he is “heavily involved with the New Windsor Little (Softball) League. One of the parents told me, ‘You do such a great job with kids. Why not work with them all the time?’ It got me thinking about it.”
Mager said he will also coach sports, “but at this point I’m not allowed to say which sports they’ll be.”
Mager was head cross country coach at Drexel University in Pennsylvania fro 13 years.
Mager coached the women’s volleyball team at SCCC for three years. Under his tenure women’s basketball was added as well as a basketball cheerleading squad.
Mager came to SCCC from West Point, where he had been a phys ed teacher.
The college’s athletic department was under a cloud then, having been put on probation by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) for violating student-athlete eligibility rules.
He replaced Mike McGuire, who had been fired for his part in the violations.
“I have no regrets about my time at Sullivan. It did great things for me,” said Mager. “The success (men’s basketball coach) Will (Brown) and others have had will continue. The only regret is that it will be a difficult search for athletic director. I’m certainly not irreplaceable or indispensable.”
Reportedly, assistant athletic director Chris DePew has applied for Mager’s position.