Tim Murray was hired as Director of Athletics at Marist on Feb. 23, 1995. During the 2024-25 school year, he became the second-longest serving AD in Division I.
In 2019, Murray was honored for his contributions with his induction into the Dutchess County Sports Museum Hall of Fame.
Murray oversees a department of 650 Division I athletes, 23 varsity programs, 19 varsity club sports, four fitness centers, a comprehensive intramural program, and the general recreation program while also serving as Director of the Physical Education Program.
In Murray’s tenure, the Marist Athletics Department has combined outstanding on-the-field success with a broad-based athletics program and outstanding academic achievement. The department has continued its growth as Marist has become significantly more academically competitive
Under Murray’s direction, Marist has been at the forefront of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in both academic and athletic achievements. The Red Foxes hold the conference’s all-time record for overall (12) and total (31) Commissioner’s Cup, which is awarded as a symbol of overall excellence in athletics.
On Feb. 15, 2014, Marist became the first school in MAAC history to win 100 conference championships when it captured the women’s swimming & diving title. Entering the 2024-25 school year, the Red Foxes have won a conference record total of 120 MAAC championships. In addition, Murray has increased the varsity sports from 20 to 23, adding women’s soccer (1995), women’s lacrosse (1997), and women’s water polo (2000).
In the 2023-24 school year, Marist led the MAAC in selections to its Academic Roll for the 23rd straight year, and had over 300 honorees for the fifth straight year. All 23 of Marist's Division I teams posted semester and cumulative GPAs over 3.0 in both the Spring 2024 and Fall 2024 semesters.
Marist has had its first Fulbright Scholar (swimmer Daniel Knoll, 2019) in the department’s history, 18 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, and have seen numerous student-athletes honored at the College’s Baccalaureate Service and take part in the Honors program. The Red Foxes won the MAAC Pepsi Goodworks Challenge in each of its four years of existence, which goes to the top conference’s top school for community service.
Consistent facility upgrades have been a hallmark of Murray’s tenure. Marist is now home to four fitness centers on campus: McCann Center, McCormack Hall (North end of campus), Marketplace (East end of campus), and Sheahan Hall (center of campus).
In the fall of 2024, ground was broken on a state-of-the-art track and turf facility on the North End of Marist's campus. This facility will benefit women's and men's track and field, cross country, lacrosse, and soccer, all of whom will use the facility for competition and/or practice.
The start of the Spring 2020 semester brought the opening of a renovated and expanded McCann Center. The 60,000 square-foot space opened after 18 months of construction and contains the following: team weight room, student fitness center, recreation gymnasium, indoor turf gymnasium, pool facility locker rooms, elevated three-lane track, physical therapy facility, café/concessions, ticket office, and a pro shop with officially licensed Marist apparel.
The previous years brought three extensive changes to the second floor of the McCann Center: the football coaches’ complex, ESPN Control Room, and Digital Media Suite. The football coaches’ complex has office space for the entire staff, with eight individual offices, in addition to two collaborative spaces for staff meetings. The ESPN Control Room features industry standard equipment and is the production hub for Marist’s ESPN broadcasts, which are collaborative efforts that feature students gaining experience while working with professionals. The Digital Media suite contains office space and editing rooms for the sports information and multimedia staffs, along with student workers.
In the fall of 2011, extensive renovations to the James J. McCann Recreation Center were completed. The newly branded McCann Arena added chair-back seating, video boards, and a new playing surface. An 11,660-square foot addition connected to the south end of the McCann Center includes new offices, locker rooms, player lounges, conference rooms, video editing rooms and a film theater. The building also received lobby and restroom renovations.
In October 2007, Tenney Stadium - the home of Marist football, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, men’s lacrosse and women’s lacrosse - opened. The stadium features the DuraSpine Revolution 360 playing surface, a modern press box, locker rooms, a concession stand and unique lawn-style seating for a capacity of 5,000.
The previous fall, the Marist Tennis Pavilion opened on the East Campus. The facility includes eight courts which have the Deco II playing surface.
In 2001, the Dr. Michael J. Maynard Center for Sports Medicine and the Center for Student-Athlete Enhancement were added to the McCann Center. The state-of-the-art sports medicine facility boasts a 1,600-square foot treatment room for rehabilitation and treatment and an added tape room to provide for the first-class treatment of Marist student-athletes. The Center for Student-Athlete Enhancement has provided study carousels, meeting and private tutoring rooms, and state of the art computer technology needed for student-athletes to succeed in the challenging Marist curriculum.
In August 1997, the doors were opened to the McCann Expansion, a $3 million, 20,000-square foot expansion project that houses a premiere 7,000-square foot weight training facility and cardiovascular center. Additionally, Murray oversaw the renovation of the McCann Center, including the dedication of the Coaches’ Complex.
Murray’s devotion to the betterment of collegiate athletics is evident by his involvement in various committees. He served on the NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee, from 2017-21. He served one term on the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision Eastern Advisory Committee and NCAA Peer Review Committee and was a member of the NCAA Championship Cabinet from 2001-05.
His involvement with numerous committees at the conference level have included serving as chair of the MAAC Awards Committee (current), MAAC Baseball Committee (current), MAAC Men’s Golf Committee (current), MAAC Women’s Basketball Committee, MAAC Committee on Athletic Administration, and the MAAC Women’s Golf Committee. Murray also serves on the MAAC Gender & Diversity Issues Committee and MAAC Marketing & Television Committee. He also previously served on the Baseball Eastern Advisory Committee.
On campus, Murray is part of the President's Cabinet. He has been a member of the Campus Campaign/Annual Fund Committee since 2000 and was chair in 2006 and 2007. He has served on the College’s Diversity Committee since 2015. An active member of the Hudson Valley community, Murray is a former member of the Board of Directors of both the Mid-Hudson Civic Center and the New Horizons Foundation.
Murray began his association with Marist in 1986, when he served as an assistant coach on the men’s basketball staff for three seasons and helped guide the Red Foxes to an NCAA berth in 1987. He left Marist in November 1989 to serve as Associate Director of Athletics at Iona College, where he worked until he accepted his current position.
Murray received his master’s degree in Sports Management from St. Thomas University (Fla.), and a degree in Health and Physical Education from East Stroudsburg University.
A native of Bridgewater, New Jersey, Murray and his wife, Barbara, make their home in Poughkeepsie with their daughters, Katherine and Lauren, and son, Owen. Katherine (Class of 2019) and Lauren (Class of 2021) are both Marist graduates.
