UMass Lowell Chancellor, Marty Meehan has appointed the Vision 2020 Athletic Strategic Planning Team composed of faculty, staff, students, alumni and business leaders to make recommendations in regard to the University's strategic direction for its intercollegiate athletics and recreation programs. Vice Provost of Graduate Education, Donald Pierson, is chairing the initiative.

Conducted as part of the overall strategic planning process of the campus, the group will assess the University's Title IX progress, explore long-range opportunities in athletics and identify strategies to meet the recreational sports needs of an active and growing student population.

A member of the Division II Northeast-10 Conference since the academic year 2000-01, UMass Lowell has won two NCAA Division II team championships and two individual national championships; and has been represented in the NCAA Tournament 98 times among its 16 Division II women's and men's teams. Additionally, UMass Lowell's women's and men's teams have also won 54 NE-10 regular season and tournament titles. 

Under Coach Norm Bazin this past year, the Division I hockey team completed the largest single-season turnaround by a first-year coach in college hockey history and finished in second place in Hockey East. The River Hawks earned an NCAA tournament berth and defeated Miami in the first round.

UMass Lowell has been consistently ranked in the top tier of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA)/Learfield Sports Directors Cup Standings, a competition based on success in NCAA Tournaments in 14 women's and men's sports. The University has led its Conference and East Region counterparts in the final Learfield Cup standings in eight of the last 11 full seasons.

In September of 2010, the University was ranked No. 12 among 100 NCAA Division II colleges and universities in the National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA) power rankings. The NCSA rankings are calculated by averaging the NACDA/Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standing, the U.S. News & World Report ranking and the NCAA student-athlete graduation rate.

Success on the playing fields, however, is only a part of mission of the Department of Athletics at UMass Lowell. All 17 women's and men's teams are actively engaged in community service and causes both within the University and the City of Lowell, underscoring the power of sports to improve lives and strengthen communities.

At the close of the 2010-11 academic year, UMass Lowell was presented the Northeast-10 Conference Community Service Award for raising more than $7,100 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The sum total also marked the fourth straight year UMass Lowell raised more than any other NE-10 institution.

Simultaneously, each team has adopted its own cause to benefit. For example, in the fall of 2011, the softball team “drafted” six-year-old Sicilia Campbell of Chelmsford, and the hockey team drafted eight-year-old Nick DeFelice of Dracut soon after, through Team Impact. Both cancer survivors, Sicilia and Nick attend many games and practices and are treated as teammates.

Finally, from an academic perspective UMass Lowell student-athletes continue to achieve at a high level. Among the Department's several annual academic incentives is the National Student-Athlete Day luncheon, at which the student-athletes with the top grade point averages from each team are honored along with an accomplished faculty member. The collective grade point average among the 14 athletes this past fall was a 3.79.

"The primary goal of the Vision 2020 Athletic Strategic Planning Team is to ensure the continued effectiveness of our athletics and recreation programs to achieve their mission," said Vision Team Chair, Pierson. "Successful programs strengthen the University's identity and complement the efforts in admissions to expand its recruiting base."