Moravian Promotes Mary Beth Spirk to Director of Athletics & Recreation
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Moravian College has promoted Head Women’s Basketball Coach/Associate Athletic Director/Senior Women’s Administrator Mary Beth Spirk to the position of Director of Athletics & Recreation effective June 5.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Moravian College has promoted Head Women's Basketball Coach/Associate Athletic Director/Senior Women's Administrator Mary Beth Spirk to the position of Director of Athletics & Recreation effective June 5.
Spirk, who recently finished her 30th season leading the Greyhounds, will maintain her position as head coach but will relinquish the role of senior women's administrator.
"I am ecstatic that Mary Beth Spirk has agreed to be our next Athletic Director," stated Dr. Nicole Loyd, Moravian College's Vice-President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students. "Mary Beth has had a distinguished 30-year career at Moravian as Head Women's Basketball Coach; she is a respected and talented coach and administrator. President Bryon Grigsby and I are confident about the future of Greyhound Athletics under Mary Beth's leadership."
Spirk arrived at Moravian in 1981 as an assistant for the women's basketball and softball teams and served in those roles for six seasons before taking over the women's basketball program in 1987. She has coached the Greyhounds to a 562-266 record over the last 30 years with a total of 19 20-win seasons, 27 postseason appearances, nine NCAA Division III Tournament berths and eight ECAC Division III Tournament appearances. Spirk also spent six seasons as Moravian's Head Softball Coach from 1988 through 1993 with an overall record of 104-57.
"It is an honor to lead the athletic department at Moravian College," Spirk said. "I am passionate about the success and committed to enhance the overall experience of our student athletes. We have a dedicated group of coaches, staff and administrative assistants who will make my transition into the new role seamless. Moravian College is a special place and it has been a privilege to be a member of the community as a coach and faculty member…I look forward to continuing to serve this community in my expanded role. I am grateful for the opportunity and want to thank President Grisby and Dr. Loyd for their confidence in me. I look forward to the next chapter here at Moravian."
Earlier this spring, Spirk was honored as the Landmark Conference Women's Basketball Coach of the Year, her tenth conference Coach of the Year honor, and she was also named the ECAC Division III Metro Coach of the Year for the first time. During her career, Spirk has coached 23 1,000-point scorers, 14 All-Americans, countless All-Conference players and a National Player of the Year in Kathy Beck in 1992, the season that Moravian hosted and played in the National Championship game in Johnston Hall. She was also the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division III National Coach of the Year in 1992.
Spirk is an ambassador for women's athletics speaking at local schools as well as attending national conferences on gender equity and Title IX. She also volunteers her time at both local and national clinics to help foster the game and give back to youths. Spirk has served as part of the 2016-17 WBCA Board of Directors, one of only three Division III coaches on the Board, for a seventh straight year.
Spirk has also been a major advocate in Moravian's participation in the Kay Yow Cancer Fund's Play 4Kay fundraiser. The Greyhounds have been the top NCAA Division III school in fundraising dollars in each of the nine years, having brought in $115,153 including a program-best $21,662 in 2017.
A 1981 graduate of Dickinson College, Spirk is an associate professor of physical education and has been assistant athletics director since 2001, moving to associate athletics director and senior women's administrator in 2011. She completed her Master's in Sports Administration at the United States Sports Academy in Alabama in 2002.
Moravian will begin a national search for an Associate Athletic Director later this week.
