Buzzards Bay, Mass. --  Patricia O’Brien, who has served in various coaching, recruiting and administrative roles during a 25-year tenure in collegiate athletics, has been named as Assistant Director of Athletics at Massachusetts Maritime.  O’Brien’s appointment, effective immediately, was announced earlier today by Bob Corradi, Massachusetts Maritime’s Director of Athletics.

O’Brien comes to the Academy after serving as the Head Women’s Basketball Coach and Athletic Department Recruiting Coordinator at Framingham State University for the past five years, where she also served as liaison for the Rams’ Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and assisted with home event management.  She will serve in various administrative roles at Massachusetts Maritime, with a major emphasis placed on recruitment and retention of student-athletes, as well as to serve as the Department’s NCAA compliance officer.

“I am very grateful to Coach Corradi and the entire Massachusetts Maritime administration for placing their trust in me in this new and exciting position,” O’Brien says.  “The tradition of leadership, excellence and commitment that the Academy has attained is one that I look forward to continuing, and I hope to enhance that experience for our cadets.”

“Trish’s arrival comes at a very exciting time for our department,” Corradi says of O’Brien’s appointment.  “She has a wealth of experience in many facets of intercollegiate athletics, and that experience will certainly benefit our coaches, student-athletes and staff in both the short and long terms.  It is a pleasure to welcome her to the Academy family.”

In addition to her tenure at Framingham State, O’Brien served as the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2005-07), Colby College (1995-2005) and Rivier College (1992-95), as she served as the latter’s Head Men’s & Women’s Cross Country Coach as well.  O’Brien was named as the 1997 WBCA District I Coach of the Year in just her second season at Colby, where she was actively involved in many administrative and recruiting facets during her 10-year tenure.

A 1989 graduate of Salem State University, O’Brien starred on the basketball court during her career, as she guided the Vikings to a 95-19 mark that included the 1986 NCAA Division III national championship.  A Kodak All-America and a two-time all-MASCAC selection, O’Brien was inducted into Salem State’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994.