Sharon Manning Beverly Sharon Manning Beverly, who had served as Vassar College’s associate director of athletics/senior woman administrator from 2002 to 2004 and as interim director of athletics since July 1, 2004, was named recently as director of athletics and physical education.
The announcement came from Ronald A. Sharp, dean of the faculty at the Poughkeepsie, N.Y., college, following a national search for the replacement of longtime Vassar athletic director Andy Jennings.
Beverly, a Monroe native, who has been involved in intercollegiate athletics for more than 25 years, is one of a select few African-American women athletic directors in the country. She joined Vassar’s Office of Athletics in 2002 after a successful career as head women’s basketball coach at Queens College, in Flushing, N.Y., Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, and New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark.
“I couldn’t be more pleased with Sharon’s appointment to this important new position,” said Sharp. “As associate athletic director and interim AD, she has done absolutely superb work. I have every confidence in her leadership.”
Beverly, who is a doctoral candidate at Capella University, is a member of the NCAA Division III Nominating Committee and the NCAA Division III Convention Planning Subcom-mittee. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Queens College.
“I am extremely honored to become Vassar’s new athletic director and feel privileged to continue the outstanding foundation that Andy Jennings has created and nurtured over the years,” said Beverly. “My appointment comes at an exciting time for Vassar College, both athletically and academically. Each year our teams have made improvement inside the competitive Liberty League. As one of the top liberal arts colleges in America, Vassar College has all the resources available to attract quality student-athletes that will make our athletic programs even more successful.”
Beverly’s 11-year career at Division I FDU includes Northeast Conference (NEC) championships in 1990 and 1992 and a regular season NEC title in 1993. Following the 1990 season, she was selected as the New Jersey State Division I Coach of the Year. In 1992, the Knights finished 23-6 and set the school record for victories. The following season, FDU tied for the NEC regular-season title with a 14-4 mark, and for her efforts, Beverly was named the NEC Coach of the Year.
Following her career at FDU, Beverly was the head women’s coach at NJIT from 1999-2002, leading the Highlanders to the most wins at the Division II level.
Beverly began her coaching career at her alma mater, Queens College, as head coach and assistant director of athletics, where she enjoyed a six-year stint highlighted by an AIAW regional bid and an ECAC Tournament berth.
Beverly is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Women’s Athletic Administrators (NACWAA) and the National Association of Division III Administrators (NADA).
During her career, she also served as president of the New Jersey State Coaches Association and the New York Metropolitan Coaches Association. Beverly also served as the state chair for the Women’s Basketball Open Division for the Empire State Games and was an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic Festival North Team in 1994.
A formidable player in her own right, Beverly was a junior college all-star at Queensborough Community College and at Queens College and played on teams that finished in seventh and ninth place in the national AIAW Tournament. She earned Queens College’s Distinguished Service Award in 1990.
Following her Queens College career, Beverly played professionally in Europe, where she led her French teams, based in Caen and Nice, in points, rebounds and assists two straight seasons. She also played professionally with the New Jersey Gems.
An inaugural inductee into the Athletic Hall of Fame at Christ the King High School in New York City, Beverly’s husband, Randy Beverly, is a former defensive back with the Jets football organization and was an integral member of the Super Bowl III Championship Team in 1968-69.
Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861. The Department of Athletics fields 23 varsity teams that compete as an NCAA Division III program in the Liberty League.