After serving as Lehigh’s athletic director for over three decades, Joe Sterrett, ‘76, will retire at the end of the calendar year.
Sterrett joined Lehigh’s football staff as a graduate assistant immediately after a four-year career where he mostly played quarterback.
He was on the coaching staff when Lehigh won their only Division II national championship in 1977.
Sterrett became athletic director in 1989 and oversaw the transition of Lehigh’s teams from the East Coast Conference to the Patriot League in 1990.
Additionally, Sterrett managed a considerable expansion of Lehigh’s Goodman Campus, from soccer and lacrosse’s Ulrich Sports Complex and Banko Field in 2001 to baseball and softball’s Leadership and Legacy Parks in 2015.
Though his last day at the helm of the athletic department is Dec. 31, Sterrett will remain a part of the department’s fundraising until the end of the school year.
3 Comments
Thank you for all you have accomplished at Lehigh. May retirement be long and blessed for you and your family.
Joe also was the chairperson of the Report of the Task Force on Strengthening Greek Life, issued in January 2004, which hugely improved and enhanced fraternity and sorority life at Lehigh. Joe’s impact at Lehigh goes well beyond the athletic playing fields. Joe is amongst a handful of legendary faculty and administrators who made a difference in the lives of students, alumni, faculty, staff, administrators, and the community.
Joe Sterrett was instrumental in the formation & success of the Patriot League as his lasting legacy in addition to the Goodman Campus buildout beyond Goodman Stadium & Stabler Arena.
The Patriot League provided a safe haven for student athletes & was created as a sister league to the Ivies. Every sport except wrestling falls under this umbrella. Wrestling was carved out to allow it to compete at the highest level of NCAA competition due to its unique legacy of developing NCAA champions. Joe understood that & supported its mission.
Lehigh truly has been blessed by Joe’s vision & steady hand on the wheel. He will be missed but not forgotten among us dedicated alums.
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