Whether it’s 10:30 p.m. on a Tuesday night in the fall following some sporting event or 7:30 a.m. on a Wednesday in December, long-time Northern Essex Community College men’s basketball coach Darren Stratton knows exactly where his boss, Dan Blair, probably is.
“He’s either closing up the building as the last person leaving or he’s the first one opening it up in the morning,” said Stratton of Northern Essex Community College’s Director of Athletics and the school’s Wellness & Fitness Center on campus.
“He’s a special person in terms of work ethic and making us all look good. But more importantly he’s extremely efficient and his compassion for others, especially our student-athletes goes way beyond his job description.”
Well, he does have a job description, which is to basically “direct” NECC’s athletics.
And according to the scoreboard, nobody around here did their job better than Blair did in 2023, helping guide four nationally-ranked programs – men’s basketball, baseball, women’s volleyball and men’s soccer – sending three of them to the National Junior College Athletic Association nationals.
Blair is our 2023 Eagle-Tribune Sportsman of the Year.
“It is so deserved,” said NECC’s baseball coach Jeff Mejia, who’s led the baseball program to three NJCAA Div. 3 World Series appearances. “What I respected about Dan is when he was hired [in 2017] he didn’t come in and make sweeping changes. He observed what was working and helped us expand on that.
“What I appreciate most is Dan is constantly looking to improve the student experience and overall reputation of our sports programs.”
When Mike McCarthy was hired as Vice President of Administration and Finance in 2016, one of his early duties was to put more of a focus on athletics, particularly growing the investment, programs and opportunities for young people.
He went searching for a Director of Athletics.
“This was important to me,” said McCarthy. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without the coaches I had and the education I received thanks to athletics. and this wasn’t about growing enrollment, per se, but growing opportunities for our students.”
Blair, who was an assistant athletic director at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, N.H., was among the finalists vying for the new position at NECC.
McCarthy asked the candidates for their plans to grow athletics. Blair’s plan blew him away.
“Dan met with our governing body and developed a case study, with costs and numbers relating to participation,” said McCarthy. “It laid everything out.”
Better yet, nearly seven years later, Blair’s implementation of his plan has been elite.
Last year, he was named the national 2021-22 National Association of College Athletic Director of the Year, overseeing three league [MCCAC] championships in women’s volleyball, men’s basketball and baseball with his new golf team capturing a Region 21 District title (baseball, too). The basketball and baseball programs also set new school records in their sports for consecutive wins.
But guess what?
The 2022-23 year, particularly 2023, was even better with NECC finishing in the Top 30 [28th overall] in the national NATYCAA/Daktronics Cup standings for the first time thanks to national top 5 finishes from the men’s basketball (5th) and baseball (3rd) teams.
McCarthy noted that it was Blair that oversaw the athletic program’s first Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2018. In March of 2023, a standing-room-only crowd was there at the second induction ceremony.
Blair also has focused on track and field this fall, hiring former long-time Haverhill High assistant Melanie Tarbox, and that team will be the largest in school history.
When he started in 2017, there were 44 student-athletes. Now there are about 150 and that number is growing.
Why leave a NCAA Div. 2 job, one with a potential pathway to being an athletic director leading a big-time program?
Simple. NECC represented home.
“I grew up in Newburyport and this was a chance to get back to area,” said the 40-year-old Blair who is married with two children. “I have a lot of relationships around this area. This is home to me. and then to go to a school and help with a culture change was key for me.”
There were a few keepers on the NECC coaching staffs, but all were part-time staffers with second and third jobs, Stratton and Mejia, in particular.
Blair found a way to get them on the payroll as full-time employees, adding value to the school outside of their coaching chores.
Mejia was added to the athletic department as an assistant to Blair as the Fitness Center Coordinator and Athletics Recruiting/Retention Coordinator.
Stratton was elevated last spring as the school’s Assistant Director of Auxiliary Services for Transportation and Athletics, managing all aspects of the college’s new campus transportation program between the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses while also taking on additional responsibilities within the athletic program. He also is working as the liaison for athletics to the college’s academic coaching program and the alumni office to enhance outreach to student-athlete alumni.
Men’s soccer coach Eusebio Marote spends his time outside of his soccer gig working on the NECC Lawrence campus in Maintenance and Facilities.
Two of the most successful coaches on campus, both of whom were “winning” before Blair arrived believe the sustained successes of their programs is due in large part to his input.
“He has changed our department is so many ways for the better,” said Mejia. “Personally, when we were on our World Series trip it was apparent to me that he had done this before. He made my job so much easier taking charge of the off-field duties I was used to doing. It seems like a small thing, but it means so much. He’s a true professional.”
Stratton, who has been at NECC since 1998, leaving for four years before returning in 2020, said the 2023 successes are the culmination of close to seven years of Blair’s touch, including and especially Blair’s demand that all student-athletes report to an academic coach.
“He’s making sure our student-athletes become Division 1 or 2 compliant, constantly working with admissions and ‘Student Affairs’ to make sure every athlete has everything they need to be successful,” said Stratton. “He works closely with our academic coaches, monitoring all of our student-athletes grades and holding everyone accountable. It’s a win-win. Sure, we’re winning in our respective sports, but more importantly our students are becoming better, more disciplined people at our school thanks to Dan.”
Amazingly, NECC athletics did not lose a student-athlete over the last year due to grades.
Stratton wasn’t done.
“This year alone he’s added women’s basketball and talks of adding women’s soccer and softball,” said Stratton. “Let’s face it, we have so many excellent coaches here at Northern Essex but when you think of NECC athletics you better not look any further than Dan Blair.
“I have worked for many athletic directors in my 20-plus years of coaching and there isn’t anyone better than Dan Blair. I know one thing for sure, if he ever leaves I will be right behind him.”
Blair laughs about the prospects of him leaving.
“I love where I work and live,” said Blair. “Unless there is a great job somewhere that I can drive to from Newburyport, this is where I’ll be.”
Working everyday with young people looking to better themselves makes NECC an ideal home for him.
“Obviously, the winning and successes are great,” said Blair. “But working with kids is the best part of this job for me. You have to love interacting with people, especially the students, and I do, because without them we don’t have a job.”
You can email Bill Burt at bburt@eagletribune.com.