August 21, 2011 | Combined Reports - UConn Communications

Paul Pendergast Named Interim Athletic Director

Currently President of the St. Francis Foundation, Pendergast previously worked in UConn Athletics.

From left, Paul Pendergast, interim director of Athletics, University President Susan Herbst, and former Husky player, Ray Allen of the Boston Celtics, at the Burton Family Football Complex on Aug. 5.

From left, Paul Pendergast, interim director of Athletics, University President Susan Herbst, and former Husky player, Ray Allen of the Boston Celtics, at the Burton Family Football Complex on Aug. 5. (Sean Flynn/UConn Photo)

UConn President Susan Herbst today announced that Paul Pendergast, UConn’s former Senior Associate Director of Athletics, will be named the University’s interim Director of Athletics, effective Sept. 19.

“Paul Pendergast has a great reputation throughout the University and the state,” said Herbst. “I’m very confident that he will do an exemplary job leading the division as its interim director. It’s clear to me that he and I share the same high standards when it comes to athletics, including the academic performance of our scholar-athletes and adherence to the rules of compliance.”

Pendergast said, “I’m thrilled to be able to return to the University of Connecticut and its Athletic Division. UConn Athletics is something very special and I’m happy to do anything I can to help ensure its success. It’s no secret that the Huskies have seen incredible achievements on the field of play for many years. Winning teams are of course the most visible part of collegiate athletics, but what counts just as much is what happens behind the scenes, particularly when it comes to the academic success of student-athletes, strict compliance with NCAA rules, and fundraising. I look forward to working with President Herbst and the entire division as we address these challenges.”

Pendergast will be paid $325,000 a year on a pro-rated basis.

Pendergast’s biography

Paul F. Pendergast is the President of the Saint Francis Foundation and the Senior Vice President of Development for Saint Francis Hospital. His position puts him among the leading executives for Saint Francis Hospital, reporting directly to President and CEO Christopher Dadlez.

Pendergast served as the Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing and Corporate Relations for the UConn Division of Athletics from 1998 to 2002, and then as Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development until 2006. In his role at UConn, he was responsible for growing the Athletics donor base, with primary emphasis on major gifts.

During his time in charge of development, private giving to the Division of Athletics averaged approximately $14.6 million per year, and membership in the UConn Club—the official booster organization of the Athletics Division—reached an all-time high of 8,000 members during his tenure.

From 1968 until his retirement in 1998, Pendergast had held various managerial and executive level positions with the IBM Corp. and its affiliates, both domestically and abroad.

He is active with many community non-profit boards, advisory boards, and committees in the Greater Hartford area. He sits on the boards for the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, Mandell Jewish Community Center Development Committee, Ray of Hope Foundation advisor, CT Whale of the American Hockey League advisor, Urban League of Greater Hartford, Connecticut Chapter of American Heart Association, and the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation. He is Chairman of the Board for the Hartford Veterans Parade and Chair to that organization’s Foundation. In addition, he was appointed in 2006 by Gov. M. Jodi Rell to be one of five members of the State of Connecticut Gaming Policy Board.

Pendergast is a 1968 graduate of Grove City (Pa.) College, with continuing work on an advanced Business degree from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. He and his wife Linda have a family of five children and 12 grandchildren. They reside in Avon, Conn.