Courtesy of Massachusetts Maritime Sports Information

The man that countless cadets have called “Coach” with great affection for more than four decades will be getting a new title this spring after retiring from Massachusetts Maritime.

Bob Corradi, who has served as the Academy’s Head Baseball Coach for 43 years and as its Director of Athletics for the past 26 seasons, will receive an honorary doctorate from the school during its annual Commencement ceremonies on Saturday, June 20^th.  Corradi is one of three individuals that Massachusetts Maritime will confer an honorary degree to while feting the Class of 2015, as he will join retiring Academy President Admiral Rick Gurnon and United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in that distinguished group.

“Humbling is the only word that comes to mind about this great honor, and even that doesn’t do this justice,” Corradi says.  “My love for this school runs deep in so many ways.  The young men and women that have come here, worked tirelessly and sacrificed so much to reach their goals and achieve their dreams—that’s what a Massachusetts Maritime degree is all about.  To have the opportunity to share that with this year’s class and one of my dearest friends in Admiral Gurnon is very special, and I can’t thank the Board of Trustees enough for this.”

Corradi began his career at Massachusetts Maritime as the Academy’s first and only Head Baseball Coach in 1973, as he has amassed 562 victories in 42 seasons on the diamond while earning the nod as Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year on three occasions, the last coming in 2008.  He guided the Buccaneers to both the MASCAC and ECAC titles during a 1982 season that saw Massachusetts Maritime win a school record 28 games, and in the fall Corradi served as Assistant Football Coach for 38 seasons under Head Coaches Don Ruggeri, Joe Domingos and Jeremy Cameron, as he helped lead the Buccaneers to a pair of New England Football Conference championships in 1977 and again in 1983.

A Bourne native and a current resident of Sandwich, Corradi served in a number of different administrative capacities at Massachusetts Maritime prior to assuming his current role of Director of Athletics in September 1989.  He has overseen the growth and development of a program that has nearly doubled from eight sports when he assumed his duties to its current 15 varsity sport offering, and he also oversaw the construction of a new turf athletic stadium (Clean Harbors Stadium) while helping to implement new construction and upgrades to existing athletics facilities both on and off campus, including the Clean Harbors Athletic Center, Commodore Hendy Field (baseball), Alison Rollins Field (softball) and the Keith Hartford Sailing Center on Herring Pond.  During Corradi’s tenure as Athletics Director, the amount of student-athletes participating in intercollegiate athletics at the Academy has tripled, and nearly 45 percent of all student-athletes participating in at least one sport have achieved a minimum 3.00 GPA over the past five years, another example of his commitment to the mission of Massachusetts Maritime and NCAA Division III.

In addition to the many honors he has received from Massachusetts Maritime, including Academy Employee of the Year in 2007, Corradi has been recognized with other numerous accolades, including the two highest awards bestowed by the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association:  the Jack Butterfield Award for integrity and dedication to the game of college baseball in 2010 and the Andy Baylock Award for significant contributions to the betterment of New England college baseball in 2012.  He received the Cape Cod Baseball League’s Fred Ebbett Lifetime Achievement Award for his many contributions to the league and to its Hall of Fame in 2012, and in 2013, he was feted during the American Legion District 10 All-Star Game in Hyannis for his years of coaching and dedication to American Legion baseball, specifically the Clark-Haddad Post 188 team in Sandwich.  Two months later, Corradi was honored as the 2013 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Male Administrator of the Year.

Last spring, Corradi announced his retirement from both of his positions at Massachusetts Maritime, effective June 12, 2015.  He will coach the Buccaneer baseball squad one last time beginning in February, and he will conclude his career having mentored nearly 1,500 cadets in the sports of baseball and football for a combined 81 seasons of play.

Bob and his wife, Kathy, are the parents of two grown children, Alison and Steven, and they have four grandchildren.