Penn State Abington names athletics director

Penn State Abington Director of Student Affairs Gina D. Kaufman announced the appointment of Deb Solfaro as director of athletics, intramurals and recreation, effective Aug. 1, 2016.

“I am absolutely honored to be selected as the next director of athletics at Penn State Abington,” Solfaro said. “I’m excited to join a strong, visionary team and to work with an experienced, dedicated coaching staff. In particular, I’d like to thank the students I met. They represented well, and I can’t wait to meet their peers.”

Solfaro brings a successful track record of experience as a NCAA Division II student-athlete, a successful Division I head coach, and a proven advocate for student-athletes as a collegiate athletic administrator.

Most recently, Solfaro served as director of athletics at Mansfield University, an NCAA Division II program in northern Pennsylvania. She was a member of the Behavioral Intervention Team and President’s Commission on the Status of Women as well as the Master Planning, Scholarship, and Title IX committees. Solfaro is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators and volunteers with the Tioga County Special Olympics and an animal rescue organization.

Solfaro’s previous experience includes:

• Fairleigh Dickinson University: Senior associate athletic director/senior woman administrator at the NCAA Division I school. She was a member of the National Association for Athletics Compliance, NCAA Rules Seminars Northeast Conference Sport Management Committees and the Northeast Conference Financial Aid Committee.
• Boston University: Solfaro was the most successful head softball coach in Division I Terriers history (186-96). Her teams won two America East championships resulting in two NCAA Tournament appearances. America East awarded her Coach of the Year honors.
• United States Military Academy: Assistant softball coach and NCAA compliance assistant. She was the primary assistant to the senior woman administrator and NCAA compliance officer, managed events and directed all softball recruitment activities.
• State University of New York (SUNY) Ulster: Solfaro served as director of athletics managing compliance, eligibility, budgets, staffing, scheduling, facilities and academics as an adviser and as an adjunct professor.

Solfaro graduated from Southern Connecticut State University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics. She earned a master's in sports administration from Fairleigh Dickinson.

Penn State Abington fields 13 men’s and women’s teams as a member of the NCAA Division III. Abington teams compete in the North Eastern Athletic Conference, and it offers club and intramural sports.