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Cieplik To Receive Gold Key from CT Sports Writers |
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 Dr. Ray Cieplik will receive a Gold Key from the Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance.
Cieplik, is in his 10th year as the Director of Athletics, is in his 39th year on the faculty at the Academy. Prior to being named AD, Cieplik was the Associate Director of Athletics for 10 years, in addition to serving as the head men’s soccer coach.
He will be joined in the Class of 2009 by Tom Nevers, former soccer coach at Hale-Ray High School in East Haddam and Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic; pro hockey defenseman Brian Leetch, a Cheshire native; and recently retired Trinity College men's basketball coach Stan Ogrodnik.
Cieplik stepped down as men’s soccer coach after 31 years following the 2001 season. He led the Bears to their second ECAC Championship in 1998. He had led the Bears to a .500 record or better in 25 straight seasons and had a 248-165-34 mark as head coach.
He is a 1967 graduate of Springfield (MA) College, where he was selected as the outstanding student in the graduating class and was inducted into the Springfield College Hall of Fame in 2000. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and a Ph. D. in Sport and Leisure Studies from the University of Connecticut.
Prior to his arrival at the Coast Guard Academy, he was a faculty member and coach at Springfield College and the University of Massachusetts. He most recently served as President of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, the largest single-sport coaching association in the world. His work with the organization included three years as Vice President-Marketing. He retains his position as the National Chair of the Scholar-Athlete All-America Committee.
In January of 2003, Cieplik received the NSCAA Honor Award, the organization’s most prestigious award.
Cieplik is also a member of several sport committees of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC). In addition, he has served as the institutional delegate to NCAA Conventions and is the Academy liaison to the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) and the New England Football Conference (NEFC). He recently completed a two-year term as President of the NEWMAC and is currently the liaison for women’s crew.
Cieplik’s resume includes significant local, regional and national involvement and numerous awards. He has served as director and coordinator for several events hosted by the Coast Guard Academy including: Connecticut Special Olympics, Connecticut State Nutmeg Games, YMCA regional championships, youth regional and state championship tournaments, and NCAA Championship competition in wrestling, soccer and basketball. He has been recognized both locally and nationally by officials’ organizations for long-term achievement and was recognized on three occasions as soccer “Coach of the Year” in New England and the Constitution Athletic Conference.
He was a 1997 inductee into the Coast Guard Academy Athletic Hall of Fame and in 2004 he was inducted into the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame.
The Gold Key Dinner takes place at 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 26, 2009 at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington. Tickets are $75 apiece and can be purchased by mailing a check to Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance,P.O. Box 70, Unionville, CT 06085. More information on the dinner, aswell as other honorees, will follow in the coming weeks.
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