Wagner College President Angelo Araimo has announced on June 28, 2022 that Walt Hameline will serve as Vice President For Intercollegiate Athletics.
"We are lucky to have one of the great athletic administrators in this country in Walt Hameline, who has provided Wagner College with tremendous leadership for 40 years," Araimo said. "In this new role, he will help us reach new heights as an institution and continue to guide our athletic department to success in the classroom and on the playing field."
Athletic Director
Walt Hameline, who stepped down as Wagner College head football coach after 34 years following the 2014 season, continues to amass an astounding record of achievement and consistency as the Seahawks' athletic director, a position he has held since 1982, which makes him the longest-tenured Division I AD with 40 years of service to his credit.
The results derived during his tenure have been profound. This natural-born leader approaches each day with a relentless energy, passion and enthusiasm. On June 4, 2015, the Wagner community demonstrated its loyalty and affection for Hameline as more than 300 guests attended a tribute dinner here on campus in recognition of his sterling 34-year record of molding young men into leaders and winners – both on and off the field.
In a ceremony prior to the kick off of the 2012 season, the field at Hameline Field was named in his honor.
Hameline is currently spearheading a fundraising drive to support an expansion to Wagner College Stadium Expansion Project. Funding for the project was kicked off at his retirement and as a direct result of that evening, more than $200,000 was raised for the project that will cost $1.2 Million. This exciting expansion project features a host of new and exciting amenities, each of which will have a positive impact on the college experience of our more than 400 Seahawk student-athletes.
"This project is an important step for our student-athletes, and one that will benefit all of our student-athletes, not just those who call Wagner College Stadium their home facility," said Hameline. “The new layout will allow us to operate the athletic department more efficiently."
“On the heels of our successful campaign that made permanent lighting a reality at the stadium, these enhancements will serve to increase the flexibility of how we operate while enhancing the student-athlete experience at the same time,” Hameline added. “The stadium expansion project will shed a visible and tangible light on our athletic programs. I believe also that the impact it will have on our recruiting will be significant.”
In August 2019, Following a 41-year absence, competitive field hockey returned to Wagner College as the Seahawks are sponsoring a field hockey program this season for the first time since 1978.
The jewel of the new field hockey complex, which is located adjacent to the Seahawks' football stadium - Hameline Field, is a state-of the art FieldTurf playing surface.
Right out of the gate, Wagner found success as head coach Niki Miller and her Seahawks were victorious in their first contest of the season, earning a 3-0 victory at Hofstra on August 30.
"We couldn't be more excited and the fact that we can do so on a beautiful and functional brand new home surface makes it that much more exciting," said Hameline. "We held our home opener last weekend vs. La Salle and the playing surface, and entire complex – including our new scoreboard, drew rave reviews from those who attended."
In April of 2012, Hameline, who enjoyed a long and proud association with metropolitan area basketball and the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), was the recipient of the 2012 Distinguished Service Award from the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA). Distinguished Service Awards are presented by the MBWA to individuals that have made significant contributions to college basketball.
For more than two decades, he was one of five metro area athletic directors, along with his peers at NYU, Fordham, Manhattan and St. John’s, who helped comprise the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association (MIBA). Along with NIT Executive Director Jack Powers, Hameline helped select teams for both preseason and postseason NIT’s, while directing other functions such as the NIT All-Star Summer Tour.
Under Hameline’s leadership, the Wagner athletic department has undergone an ambitious expansion in both sport offerings and facility improvements. Thanks to the generosity of Marc Lebovitz, one of his former offensive lineman and now highly-successful business man, Wagner College Stadium was the beneficiary of a striking state-of-the-art video scoreboard in 2010.
The scoreboard, donated by Lebovitz, a member of the Seahawks’ 1987 Division III National Championship football team and a 1991 Wagner graduate, represented a major facility upgrade for the Green & White football program, while also benefiting the women’s soccer, men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse and men’s & women’s track and field programs.
The aforementioned Wagner College Stadium expansion will include brand new locker rooms, training room, training facility and equipment room, which will serve to benefit Wagner’s 25 athletic programs. In addition, the expansion will provide the opportunity to host additional external events for the Staten Island community.
The increased locker room space will allow the men's and women's lacrosse programs to have permanent locker rooms at Wagner College Stadium which will open up space for other Athletic programs to utilize in the Spiro Sports Center.
"Walt Hamline represents the best of what Wagner is all about - high achievement, integrity and hard work," said then-Wagner College President Richard Guarasci. "He has been an excellent teacher, mentor and leader, and one of the truly great influences on the development and history of Wagner College. It has been my good fortune to work alongside him.
"He is a Wagner treasure and he will continue as Athletics Director to leave his indelible mark of character and commitment on this special place," Guarasci continued. "I look forward to many years of his fine leadership in athletics and on all aspects of our campus community."
The recently concluded 2019-2020 academic year was one of the best years in the classroom as an athletic department. The Seahawks finished the academic year with a school record 3.432 institutional GPA, while women's lacrosse, baseball, and women's indoor and outdoor track and field teams each earned their respective NEC team GPA awards.
Wagner now has the distinction of winning eight straight NEC Student-Athlete of the Year Awards with men's cross country and track standout Jonathan Besselink taking home this year’s honor.
In addition, a total of 115 student-athletes were named to NEC Commissioner’s Honor Roll for achieving a 3.75 GPA or higher, a select group that is a part of 330 student-athletes that earned NEC Honor Roll honors for meeting the threshold of a 3.2 GPA or better.
In October, 2018, Sierra Clark of the Wagner College women's basketball team was on hand at the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year Awards Dinner, held in Indianapolis, IN on Sunday night, as she was one of nine finalists among the Top 30 who were selected from a pool of 154 conference honorees.
Recently graduated women’s tennis standout Vedika Anand, from New Delhi, India, has been nominated for the NCAA’s prestigious Woman of the Year Award which honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in academics, athletics, service and leadership.
Head Football Coach
Hameline completed his 34th season on November 22, 2014 as the Seahawks posted a riveting 23-20 win at Bryant, giving the Green & white a 7-4-record and a share of the 2014 Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season title at 5-1, Wagner's second league crown in the last three years.
During his marvelous 34-year coaching career, Hameline amassed an all-time record of 223-139-2 (.615) on Grymes Hill. At the conclusion of the 2014 regular season, those 223 victories ranked fifth among active head Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) head coaches.
In 2014, Hameline was honored by the Metropolitan New York Football Writers and USA College Football at the Eastern College Football Awards Banquet at MetLife Stadium. On this night, Hameline received the FCS Bob Ford Award, named for the man who guided a highly-successful University at Albany program from 1970 to 2013. Established in 2012, the Bob Ford Award honors Legendary FCS coaches who have recently retired from the sidelines.
In a stirring ceremony prior to kickoff of the September 15, 2012, Wagner vs. Monmouth game, the field at Wagner College Stadium was named Hameline Field in honor of his long-time success at the helm of the Seahawk gridiron program.
November 6, 2010 was another historic day in Hameline’s career, another that also involved Monmouth, as the Seahawks’ 31-20 win over the Hawks marked career victory number 200.
In 2012, Hameline, who has coached more than 100 All-Americans and nearly 100 All-NEC players, led the Seahawks to their first-ever Northeast Conference (NEC) Football Championship with a thrilling 23-17 come-from-behind victory over Duquesne on November 17, 2012, while clinching a berth in the 2012 Division I FCS Playoffs. The win personified the Green & White’s exhilarating season. Wagner began the season with three straight losses, before winning its next nine games.
In defying the odds throughout its triumphant march to the school’s first-ever Northeast Conference (NEC) title and the conference’s first-ever NCAA FCS win, Wagner compiled a 9-4 record, including a 7-1 mark in the NEC. The Seahawks finished the season ranked 21st in The Sports Network Final Top-25 Poll and 22nd in the Final FCS Coaches Poll, an achievement that marked the first time an NEC team has ended the season with an appearance in both official Top-25 polls.
The accolades soon began to pour in for Hameline. After being named the 2012 NEC Football Coach of the year, he was tabbed the 2012 Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) National Coach of the Year by both College Football News (CFN) and the College Sports Journal (CSJ). Hameline was also named as one of the 20 nominees for the Eddie Robinson Award, which since 1987 has been awarded annually to college football’s top head coach in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
Shortly after receiving the news of his twin National Coach of the Year honors, Hameline was inducted into the New Jersey Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame
Not to be lost amid the host of accomplishments by the 2012 team is the fact that Hameline helped lead the school to a 30-0 victory at nationally-ranked UAlbany in the week following Hurricane Sandy. After returning from the state capital, Hameline joined many of his team members aiding in the recovery efforts in some of Staten Island’s hardest-hit areas.
Hameline also saw his first former player crack the NFL ranks when Julian Stanford made the 2012 Jacksonville Jaguars' 53-man roster, becoming the first Seahawk in the NFL since Wagner Hall of Famer Rich Kotite suited up for the New York Giants in 1972. Currently a member of the Detroit Lions, Stanford is one of three former Seahawks currently playing in a major professional football league, along with Dominique Williams of the Minnesota Vikings and C.O. Prime of the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Prior to the momentous 2012 season, Hameline’s overall coaching ledger included five ECAC Titles and three NCAA Tournament Appearances, highlighted by 1987 NCAA Division III National Championship. In the magical Championship Season of 1987, Wagner posted a 19-3 win over heavily-favored Dayton in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl to earn the NCAA Division III National Championship. Against one of the toughest schedules in the nation, Hameline’s Seahawks rolled to a 13-1 record, winning more games than any college football team in any division in America.
The team earned the school’s second Lambert Trophy, symbolic of football superiority in the East among Division III schools, and ECAC Team of the Year recognition. Following the season, in addition to Sports Illustrated writing a feature story, a host of national and regional organizations recognized Hameline, highlighted by him being named the Chevrolet National Coach of the Year. In 1990, just three years after winning the school’s only National Championship, Hameline became the winningest coach in school history.
The administrator has been a key developer of the NEC, serving on numerous committees, and is a past president of the league. Nine years ago, the New Hartford, NY native was honored for his playing, coaching and administrative achievements when he was inducted into the Utica Sports Hall of Fame. In addition, Hameline was given the All-America Football Foundation Johnny Vaught Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998.
An outstanding defensive back at Brockport State, Hameline received his Bachelor of Science degree in physical education in 1975, and went on to earn his Master’s Degree in education from the University of Albany in 1977.
A 2019 inductee into the Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame, Hameline resides in Colts Neck, NJ, with his wife, Debi, and they are the proud parents of daughters Kristen and Kelly.