Wilmington College has named long-time NCAA Division III men’s basketball coach Matt Croci as its director of athletics. His selection followed a national search that included campus visits from “four outstanding candidates.”
Croci has been Wittenberg University’s head men’s basketball coach since 2016, amassing a 142-60 overall record, several North Coast Athletic Conference championships and designations as NCAC coach-of-the-year. He was head men’s basketball coach at Kenyon College from 2003 to 2010 and also gained extensive experience in athletic administration while serving as assistant athletic director for seven years at Wittenberg.
President Corey Cockerill said Croci impressed her with his appreciation for the College’s core values as guiding principles for the institution, in addition to his extensive coaching and administrative experience in NCAA Division III.
"With great enthusiasm, we welcome Matt Croci as our new athletic director at Wilmington College,” she said. “Matt is a charismatic and collaborative leader with a long history of success within D-III athletics. His leadership will undoubtedly inspire our student-athletes and bring both support and new opportunities to our Quaker athletic programs."
Croci expressed his excitement for his appointment, noting his familiarity with Wilmington College over numerous years of inter-conference competition and how impressed he was by his meetings with various groups during the interview process.
“I'm excited to join the Wilmington College community,” he said. “It’s a relationship business and I look forward to building strong bonds with our coaches and student-athletes, and creating strong ties with everyone across campus.”
Croci noted a “great opportunity” exists in WC athletics to take the next steps in advancing many areas. “I'm anxious to work with our staff and athletes, support them in their goals and provide some guidance on working toward the next levels of success,” he added. “I'm excited to roll my sleeves up and go to work.”
In addition to Croci’s head coaching experience at Wittenberg and Kenyon, he served as an assistant coach at Wittenberg, Capital University and the University of Mary Washington (VA). He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Wittenberg and a Master’s of Sports Leadership from Northeastern University (MA).
Sigrid Solomon, vice president for student affairs and dean of students, headed the search committee, which featured a dozen members representing a cross-section of the campus: students, coaches, faculty, staff and senior administration. She noted the national search attracted candidates offering a “wealth of experience, talent and career success,” characteristics exemplified by the “four outstanding candidates” brought to campus for interviews last week.
“We’re excited to have Matt join our WC Quaker family,” Solomon said. “He will bring a level of enthusiasm to athletics in providing positive mentoring to young coaches, building bridges with various campus constituents and having an open door to students. He understands Division III athletics — it’s about balance.”
She also lauded Briana Clark, associate director of athletics, for her work this summer as interim AD.
“The College is grateful to Bri for her ability to provide leadership and guidance to the athletic department during this vacancy,” Solomon added. “She did an outstanding job of creating unity and transparency while keeping the goal of providing our student-athletes with the best possible experience.”