LOWELL, Mass. – UMass Lowell Athletics has announced the promotion of Alison Quandt Westgate to Senior Associate Athletic Director for Student Athlete Excellence. Quandt Westgate has served as the River Hawks' Associate Athletic Director of Academics and Student-Athlete Services since 2017.
 
In her new role, Quandt Westgate will be responsible for the oversight of the resources that support student-athlete success. She will work collaboratively with senior leadership in the athletics department, as well as across campus to ensure a championship experience for both current and future River Hawks, in areas such as academics, career and leadership development, and community service.
 
"We have sincerely appreciated the partnership that Alison has developed between athletics and academics," commented UMass Lowell Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, Joe Hartman. "It is great to see her dedication recognized and we look forward to continuing to work with her in supporting our student-athletes."
 
Since coming to UMass Lowell, Quandt Westgate has established a foundation for the student-athlete development curriculum that includes the River Hawk Leadership Academy, Career and Financial Preparation, Community Service and Personal Development programming and services. She has also spearheaded the River Hawk Degree Completion Program that has stewarded four former River Hawks to completion of their degree, in one case 35 years after the student-athlete exhausted their eligibility. She works extensively to support first generation students through the River Hawk Scholars Academy in addition to the International Students and Scholars Office.
 
"I'm honored and excited for this new opportunity to have a greater impact on the success of our student-athletes in all facets of their lives," said Quandt Westgate.
 
Quandt Westgate was selected for the prestigious NCAA Pathway Program for the 2021-2022 cohort. The Pathway Program is a year-long program designed to elevate senior-level athletics administrators to the next step as directors of athletics or conference commissioners.
 
Prior to UMass Lowell, she spent a year and a half at Impact Performance Group LLC designing and facilitating sales, leadership and coaching development programs for organizations across a range of industries from banking to hospitality to construction. Before IPG, Quandt Westgate spent eight years as the Director and then Assistant Athletic Director of Student-Athlete Development at Boston College and oversaw the build-out of a holistic program to serve student-athletes in their leadership, career, personal and community service development. Highlights of her time on the Heights include, the creation of Xcel, a biannual summit for the captains of each team; an increase in senior student-athlete job/graduate school placement from 62% to 86% over a three year period; and the creation of an annual service trip to New Orleans, La. and rural Mississippi that brought 25 student-athletes together from a variety of sports to help rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. In addition, she coached the goaltenders on the women's hockey team for nine years – a tenure that included seven trips to the Frozen Four, four Hockey East titles, three Beanpot titles and preparation of two backstops for the Olympic team (2010 & 2014), and a Silver Medal at the World Championships as an assistant with the U18 Women's National Team in Budapest, Hungary.
 
Quandt Westgate is a certified facilitator of the DiSC® Personality Assessment and facilitates Huddle Up, a leadership program that uses the power of sport to help end gender violence through the Institute for Sport and Social Justice. She also serves on the Advisory Board for Boston College's Master of Sport Administration Program in the Woods College of Advancing Studies. A Boston College alumnae (BA Economics & General Education), Quandt Westgate spent the first three years of her professional career at PwC in the Risk Assurance Practice before returning to BC to complete her MBA with a Leadership concentration.
 
A four-year member of the women's hockey team at BC, she graduated with multiple program records. She received the Joe Bertagna Goaltender Award as the 2006 Beanpot Tournament's most outstanding goaltender. In 2015, she was inducted into the Beanpot Hall of Fame.