The Ithaca College Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced April 23 that Andrew Parker was appointed as the assistant director of athletics for sports performance.
Parker steps into the position replacing long term head strength and conditioning coach Vic Brown who resigned Jan. 19.
Susan Bassett ’79, associate vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics, welcomed Parker with open arms and said his experience will be suitable to take over for Brown.
“I am thrilled to welcome coach Andrew Parker to join our staff and lead our efforts in the area of sports performance,” Bassett said in the statement. “Coach Parker brings a wealth of experience on both the Division I and III levels. His passion for excellence came through in his interview with us. I am confident that he will build on the strong foundation established by Vic Brown in Strength and Conditioning and our academic colleagues in Exercise Science. I look forward to what the future holds for IC Athletics under his guidance in sport performance.”
Parker received his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology with a concentration in fitness development from the State University of Cortland before getting his master’s degree in sport and fitness administration from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina. During his time at Winthrop, Parker would serve as a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach, but he was promoted to assistant strength and conditioning coach in 2017.
In 2018, Parker left Winthrop to serve as the head strength and conditioning coach and equipment room manager for Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York. Parker oversaw 19 different athletic teams and coincidentally worked with Bombers’ men’s basketball head coach Waleed Farid, who was the men’s basketball head coach with Hartwick at the time. Farid said Parker’s dedication will push student-athletes to try their hardest.
“Andrew is a knowledgeable, passionate, and dedicated coach,” Farid said in the statement. “His coaching not only boosts performance but also motivates student-athletes to excel. I’ve seen firsthand the impact Andy can have on an athletic department, and I look forward to working with him again.”
Parker left Hartwick in September 2022 to serve as the head strength and conditioning coach and director of physical education and forester fitness at Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Illinois. During his time with Lake Forest, Parker worked with the 25 different athletic teams and the sports medicine staff. Parker tracked the advancement in athletic development programming by using sports science and data collection with Catapult, Jump Metrics and Dashr Timing Systems. Parker also is NSCA certified strength and conditioning specialist and registered strength and conditioning coach.
Parker will begin his position with the college June 17 and said he is going to put his best effort going forward to improve what is an already strong program.
“I would like to thank director of intercollegiate athletics, Susan Bassett, along with the entire search committee, for entrusting me to lead the sports performance initiative for Ithaca College,” Parker said in the statement. “It is an honor to be able to serve the student-athletes, the current sports performance staff, coaches, and all those associated with the goal of developing our athletes to their fullest potential. I look forward to being able to build upon an already strong established culture built by Vic Brown, and the current sports performance staff, who have worked tirelessly during this transition period, as well as work hand in hand with our Exercise Science Department to give our students and student-athletes the best experience possible in their time at Ithaca College. The future for Ithaca College sports performance is bright, go Bombers and let’s get to work!”
