For Ashley Magruda-Wood, becoming Athletic Director meant more than just a title. For her, it means having a seat at the table and a voice in administration.
Last September, Ashley Magruda-Wood was named Associate Director of Athletics after seven years of coaching Women’s Soccer at Dean College. For Magruda-Wood, having women in leadership positions for NCAA college sports is extremely valuable. According to the NCAA, in 2021–2022, 25% of NCAA athletic director roles were held by women. Magruda-Wood says having a “female voice in administration is important for the women athletes at Dean to be heard.” Through her leadership, the gender bias in college sports is changing and athletes at Dean can be heard by the administration.
Since the fall semester, Dean Athletics has undergone significant transformation and growth. Vice President of Athletics and Recreation Eric Lee, alongside Ashley Magruda-Wood, lead the transformation, emphasising representation and leadership.
Since last June, Lee and Magruda-Wood have hired more than 15 new staff members for the Athletics department, including four first-time head coaches. Dean College athletics became a full member of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) at the beginning of the 2020-21 year. This recent growth in leadership will help Dean Athletics compete with bigger athletic programs and strengthen its reputation within the GNAC. The athletic leadership will face challenges since Dean has a growing athletic program. To sustain momentum, the leadership in athletics will have to ensure roster continuity, which will require ongoing effort, especially as new coaching staff work to establish their programs.
Ashley Magruda-Wood said part of this transformation is hosting more recruitment events to create more engagement within the Athletics department. The first event of the semester was a success, with Dean College Athletics hosting the first Athletics Open Day in Pieri Gymnasium. A total of 77 incoming students attended, with 161 people in total. There was a mix of committed students and prospective students in attendance. Magruda-Wood said, “There was a lot of excitement about the event,” and the “coaches were excited” to showcase Dean Athletics to their future recruits. Eric Lee said the athletics department is “hoping to do this open house event twice a year” due to its success.
Alumni Brett Chaves ‘24 was recently hired as the sports information director at Dean. Magruda-Wood said this hire is “promoting athletics in a fresh perspective,” and the social media for Dean Bulldogs is going through a transformation for the better. Chaves has five years of experience in PR and media in professional baseball, where he served as the Director of Broadcast and Media Relations for both the Brockton Rox and New England Knockouts. Lee commented on the hire enthusiastically, saying Chaves has a “critical role” at Dean, as through capturing games and events, he is “controlling the constant flow of media” for the Dean Bulldogs.
Eric Lee believes that Dean College athletics can act as a “springboard” for creating these first-time coaches’ careers. The first-time head coaches at Dean include Alexandra Bezio ’23 for women’s soccer, Megan Dixon for Women’s basketball, Luke Bakanowsky for football, and Warren Backman for men’s soccer. Magruda-Wood is excited by the concept of first-time coaches because she believes they “have the opportunity to create what they envision for their team.” She says these younger coaches are passionate and hungry to win conference titles and even go on the road to NCAA playoffs.
So, what does the future look like for the Dean Bulldogs?
Well, Eric Lee believes that if Dean Athletics stays in the mindset of consistently recruiting and roster continuity, the Bulldogs will become a strong athletic program. This past year, Women’s volleyball, women’s field hockey, and men’s basketball all made the GNAC playoffs. In the past, both Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse and Men’s Soccer have made the GNAC playoffs as well. The future of Dean athletics is looking bright. Lee’s long-term goals include the potential for facility enhancements and elevating the program so that all the sports are competing in post-season play. Magruda-Wood said she thinks the positive change will come from the new hires and the collaboration between coaches and staff.
With strong leadership and a commitment to growth, the Dean Athletics program is looking to reach new heights. It will be up to the new leadership group to ensure the student athletes at Dean College thrive and work harder than ever before. Now, the foundation is set for the Bulldogs to create a legacy in NCAA college sports.
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