Three individuals who have made substantial and unique contributions to the growth and stability of Hockey East will be awarded the prestigious Hockey East Founders Medal.
The highest individual honor the conference can bestow will be presented to former commissioner Joe Bertagna, former Providence athletic director Bob Driscoll, and former New Hampshire athletic director Marty Scarano. The trio will be honored during the men’s championship weekend at TD Garden, March 22-23.
Bertagna was the longest serving commissioner in Hockey East history, ushering in an era of unprecedented success following his appointment in 1997. During his tenure, Bertagna oversaw a number of triumphs for the conference, including a successful hosting of the 2015 NCAA Frozen Four in Boston, several new television contracts, multiple sold-out events at Fenway Park, and the addition of the University of Connecticut, and the College of the Holy Cross to the conference membership.
Bertagna made his mark immediately at Hockey East, engineering a multi-year television deal (SportsChannel New England) in his first month on the job. Shortly thereafter, league tournament attendance rocketed upward, leading to the event’s first-ever sellout in 2000. Bertagna was instrumental in bringing about the formation of the women’s league within Hockey East, just as he initiated league play for both Division I and Division III women’s programs while with the ECAC. In 2013, the directors recognized his contributions to the women’s game by dubbing the Hockey East women’s tournament championship trophy the Bertagna Trophy.
In the summer of 2017, Bertagna’s career accomplishments were recognized with a pair of prestigious honors as he was presented the Distinguished Service Award by USA Hockey and was inducted into the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame by Massachusetts Hockey. Bertagna has also delivered a number of high-profile special events for Hockey East member schools. During the 2015-16 season, UMass Lowell and Northeastern played in the first Friendship Four Tournament over Thanksgiving weekend in Belfast, Northern Ireland, along with Brown and Colgate. Since the inaugural event, nearly every Hockey East men’s program has traveled overseas and in 2019 Bertagna was instrumental in organizing the first-ever international women’s series between Northeastern and Clarkson in Belfast.
Nationally, Bertagna has been the executive director of the American Hockey Coaches Association since 1991, the only person to serve in that capacity. In this role, he has overseen the growth of AHCA membership from fewer than 300 members in 1992 to more than 1,400 members today. He has served two separate stints on the NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee, chairing the committee each time. He also serves on the board of directors of both USA Hockey and the Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation.
Driscoll served as the Providence AD for 21 years, overseeing a triumphant era for the men’s and women’s hockey programs that included aiding the creation of the Hockey East women’s league in 2002-03. Driscoll transformed Providence’s athletics program during his tenure. He established a vision of student-athlete success in the classroom and in the community, while competing for championships. Driscoll maintained focus on leading, fostering and mentoring one of the nation’s most respected athletic programs.
He oversaw the 2013 renovation of Schneider Arena, home of the Friars men’s and women’s hockey teams, into one of the premier facilities in the NCAA. The men’s hockey team made two Frozen Four appearances and six-consecutive NCAA tournaments, capturing its first NCAA championship with a dramatic, come-from-behind win over Boston University on April 11, 2015 at the TD Garden. It marked the college’s third NCAA team title and its first in a men’s sport. The Friars also captured the Hockey East regular-season crown in 2015-16, while the women’s team won the first three Hockey East tournaments and claimed three regular season titles. He also served as the chair of the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Committee.
In 2020, Driscoll was recognized with the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association Builders’ Award. For the second time in his tenure, Driscoll was recognized as the Under Armour I-AAA athletics director of the year at the 51st Annual National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) convention in June 2016. In June 2008, Driscoll also was named the 2007-08 Astro Turf athletics director of the year for the Division I Northeast Region at the 43rd National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Annual Convention.
Within Hockey East, Driscoll played a vital role in several committees, including spearheading the Marketing and Television Committee that laid the groundwork for the league’s historic agreements with CBS Sports, NESN, and ESPN.
Scarano served 22 years in his position at New Hampshire, creating an environment that spawned four consecutive Hockey East tournament champions to go along with six regular-season titles in the women’s league. On the men’s side, the Wildcats won five regular season crowns and two Lamoriello Trophies as tournament champions.
Scarano served on several committees during his tenure with Hockey East, including helping to guide matters related to membership and officiating. His counsel yielded a philosophy that led to the addition of Connecticut and Holy Cross to the conference membership, as well as Notre Dame for four seasons. Under his watch, Hockey East greatly improved its officiating ranks as he helped to hire former NHL officials Dan Schachte and Brian Murphy to positions of official supervision. He also served as the chair of the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Committee.
On campus in Durham, what will be remembered most during Scarano’s tenure are the renovations made to many of the Wildcats’ athletic facilities. Most prominently highlighted by the erection of Wildcat Stadium in 2016, which is now home to UNH football, soccer and lacrosse. The $27 million project, complete with a 30’ by 50’ video board, has hosted Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoff games, conference championship games, as well as NCAA men’s soccer tournament games in its first eight seasons.
He also helped improve academic facilities for his athletes during his run with UNH. In the spring of 2015, UNH finished construction on the $2 million Watkins Center for Student-Athlete Excellence at the UNH Field House for its Division I and Northeast Passage student-athletes, funded entirely by private donations. That fall, the Whittemore Center – home to both hockey teams and site of the 2024 women’s Frozen Four – received a substantial facelift ($1.3 million) in the form of a four-sided, center-hung video board, a high-resolution end zone board and LED display band.
In 2020 the university announced its plan to resize the ice in the Whittemore Center, home to the men’s and women’s teams, from an Olympic-sized sheet to a smaller and more traditional surface. Scarano played a hand in this decision as well as alluding to more upgrades to come at the Whitt.
Under Scarano, New Hampshire took on the task of hosting several major NCAA championships. In 2023, UNH hosted the men’s hockey Northeast Regional at the SNHU Arena (Manchester, N.H.) for the ninth time in 20 years.
UNH was host of the NCAA women’s hockey Frozen Four at the Whittemore Center in 2002, 2005, 2016 and 2020. It will host again this season on March 22 and 24, 2024.
The Hockey East Founders Medal was established in 2009 upon the occasion of the 25th anniversary Hockey East season. The inaugural recipients were, fittingly, the five founding athletic directors who created the conference in the mid-1980s. In all, the award has been presented to seven institutional administrators, five conference administrators, two administrators associated with the TD Garden (home of the Hockey East men’s championship), two on-ice officials, and two head coaches.
Previous Hockey East Founders Medal Recipients
2009
Irwin Cohen, AD, Northeastern University
Bill Flynn, AD, Boston College
Lou Lamoriello, AD, Providence College
Andy Mooradian, AD, University of New Hampshire
John Simpson, AD, Boston University
2011
Bob DeGregorio, Commissioner, Hockey East
Stu Haskell, Commissioner, Hockey East
Brendan Sheehy, Supervisor of Officials, Hockey East
2013
Steve Nazro, VP of Events, TD Garden
Jim Prior, PA Announcer, TD Garden
2014
Jack Parker, Head Coach, Boston University
2018
Dick Umile, Head Coach, University of New Hampshire
2019
Tom Peters, Associate AD, Boston College
Dana Skinner, AD, UMass Lowell
2020
Tim Benedetto, On-Ice Official
Dick DeCaprio, Observer/Supervisor of Officials, Hockey East
John Gravallese, On-Ice Official
Kathy Wynters, Associate Commissioner, Hockey East
