WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – On Wednesday, Director of Athletics & Recreation Alicia Queally announced that Nick D'Amato would be joining University of Hartford as Director of Recreation & Club Sports.

"We are excited to have Nick as our next leader of campus recreation and club sports here at Hartford," said Queally. "His high level of experience in recreation and club sports will serve our students and greater University community well. I look forward to seeing Nick continue to grow our recreation and club sports area on campus. Throughout the interview process, we discussed several ideas that he will be able to bring to our community, which I know will be of interest to our students. In addition, his ability to connect with different departments on campus will serve us well."

"I'm incredibly excited to join the University of Hartford as Director of Recreation & Club Sports," said D'Amato. "I look forward to the opportunity to build vibrant, inclusive programs that support student wellness, leadership, and community to help students make the most of their time as a Hawk."

D'Amato arrives at Hartford after serving as the Senior Assistant Director for Sports Programs at the University of Massachusetts Amherst for Campus Recreation & Wellbeing since 2019. In this role he led strategic planning and daily management of sports programs for 43 club sports and an intramural program with over 11,000 annual participants. He also supervised two full-time assistant directors along with more than 100 student employees, oversaw just under million-dollar budgets, and implemented new technologies to improve productivity and student engagement throughout the club sports programs.

Prior to UMass Amherst, D'Amato served as the Assistant Program Directory of Intramurals & Tournaments at the University of Connecticut for three years. At UConn he managed large budgets, led a discipline task force to ensure equitable enforcement of program policies, and played a key role in the development of the new UConn Recreation Center.

D'Amato started his professional career at Keene State College as the Coordinator for Intramural Sports & Sports Clubs for the Office of Recreational Sports in 2014. While at Keene State he expanded intramural offerings and collaborated on intramural sports assessments to improve the quality and student retention.

In addition to his strong presence at these various colleges D'Amato has been actively involved with National Intramural Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) presenting at the 2023, 2024, and 2025 conferences around the country.

D'Amato earned his M.S. in Recreation & Sports Administration in 2014 from Western Kentucky University and his B.S. in Sport Management from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2012.

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