Danny McCabe has led the Adelphi University Department of Athletics as its Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation since July 2013.
Under his watch, Adelphi has continued to set a standard of excellence in the Northeast-10 Conference, winning the NE10 President’s Cup three times (2014, 2016, 2017). The Panthers have also captured a total of 42 conference championships and appeared in 55 NCAA Tournaments, with four NCAA Division II Women’s Lacrosse National Championships, since McCabe’s arrival in Garden City.
Ultimately, Adelphi has had a team either win a Northeast-10 Conference title or qualify for the NCAA Tournament in each year of McCabe’s tenure. In addition to the women’s lacrosse team’s prominent run, the men’s soccer program has advanced to two Elite Eights and softball program has qualified for the NCAA Division II Women’s College World Series three times – most recently, in 2022 -- while the men’s lacrosse team has made two trips to the national semifinals.
Adelphi’s success on the field has been matched by its excellence in the classroom. Marked by an astounding graduation rate of over 90 percent, the Panthers have been named a recipient of the NCAA President’s Award for Academic Excellence three years running. Nearly thirty student-athletes have been honored as CSC Academic All-Americans, with McCabe at the helm, and a league-best 35 teams earned an NE10 Team Academic Award, which is presented annually to the teams in the conference with the highest grade-point average. In the 2021-22 academic year, almost 85 percent of the University’s student-athletes had a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
McCabe’s oversight has also seen the growth of Adelphi’s involvement in the community, with the athletic program donating over 2,000 hours to community service each year. That has included formed relationships with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Morgan’s Message, Tunnel to Towers Foundation and the DezyStrong Foundation.
In 2017, Adelphi created the Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Council, which earned McCabe and his staff the LGBT SportSafe Gold Medallion. This committee, made up of staff and students, works to ensure that the ideals and values of Adelphi are paramount and that everyone is welcome to participate in Adelphi Athletics.
McCabe has been instrumental in building Adelphi’s corporate partnership program. Currently, more than 20 companies make up Adelphi’s corporate partnership roster. Corporate sponsorship revenue has more than quadrupled since 2013.
Adelphi’s sponsors have also been significantly involved in the department’s special events, including the Ficke Golf Classic and biennial Hall of Fame celebration. Each of these fundraising events has doubled its revenue over the past five years.
McCabe has created several new positions in the department, beginning with the addition of a varsity women’s golf program and the hiring of Keith Ferrara as the first full-time strength and conditioning coach. In addition, the department created a new strength and conditioning center and Panther Fueling Station inside the Center for Recreation and Sport and fundraised nearly $500,000 to renovate its locker room facilities for the University’s baseball and men’s and women’s lacrosse programs.
Finally, McCabe previously served terms on the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball East Regional Advisory Committee and NCAA Division II Men’s Lacrosse Regional Advisory Committee. He now holds the distinguished position of standing on the NCAA Division II Management Council, while also working alongside the ECAC Board of Directors.
McCabe came to Adelphi from Hofstra University, where he was a part of the Pride’s intercollegiate athletic program for eight years, as Executive Associate Athletic Director. He played a pivotal role in the day-to-day operations of the department and, in that role, McCabe spearheaded Hofstra's NCAA certification process, and played a large role in developing and implementing the University's five-year plan for athletics. He also served as the chairman of the NCAA Lacrosse Quarterfinals Organizing Committee at Hofstra in 2009 and 2011.
In addition, McCabe served as the program administrator for the men's and women's basketball, men's lacrosse, volleyball and men's soccer programs and had oversight responsibilities for the sports medicine and strength and conditioning departments.
Prior to Hofstra, McCabe was at Providence College, where he served as Associate Director of Athletics for External Relations from 2000-05. In that capacity, he managed all athletic department marketing, promotions and sales strategies for the Big East institution. Under his guidance, the College experienced increased sponsorship sales and ticket sales and increased the average attendance at Friars’ men's basketball games. McCabe also oversaw the Providence athletic ticket office, managed their collegiate licensing program -- increasing revenue by 133 percent -- and worked with the Director of Athletics in the department's fundraising program.
Before his time at Providence, McCabe served as the University of Miami Director of Ticket Sales from 1998 to 2000. At Miami, he handled season ticket and group ticket sales strategies for the Hurricanes’ football, baseball, and men's and women's basketball programs. McCabe also spent time in leadership roles in the marketing departments at both Fairfield University (1994-98) and Fordham University (1991-92). He is a 1991 graduate of Providence.
