General | 5/26/2016 9:00:00 AM

NEWARK, NJ—Lenny Kaplan, New Jersey Institute of Technology's Assistant Vice President/Director of Athletics, has been appointed a four-year term on the NCAA Division I Men's Volleyball Committee.

Kaplan will serve on a committee that is charged with oversight of the NCAA Volleyball Championship, including, but not limited to team selection, seeding, officials, offering guidance to the host institution as necessary, areas of sport growth and rules changes.

"I am honored to be selected as the newest member of the NCAA Men's Volleyball Committee and grateful for the opportunity to represent NJIT and the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) on the national stage" said Kaplan. "I look forward to working with other members of the committee to help grow the sport of men's volleyball on the collegiate level."

Since taking over as head of New Jersey Institute of Technology's division of physical education and athletics in August 2000, Kaplan has been instrumental in guiding the program's growth, first at the NCAA Division II level and, since late 2002, in its successful reclassification to NCAA Division I.

Kaplan's tenure at NJIT has seen growth in the institution and in its athletics program on multiple fronts.

NJIT announced plans last year to build a new Wellness and Events Center, a $100 million on-campus facility with an opening targeted for 2017 and construction is moving forward.

Also last year, on July 1, 2015, NJIT accepted an opportunity to become the eighth full member of the multisport Atlantic Sun Conference and 13 Highlander teams recently completed their first season as members of the A-Sun, with a 14th (men's soccer) set to follow in 2016-17. The A-Sun was the first multi-sport postseason-qualifying home at the Division I level for NJIT.

However, NJIT is a long-time member of the EIVA, which is one of four automatic qualifying conferences in the sport of men's volleyball in Division I-II.         

In September 2015, Lenny Kaplan was lauded at the annual Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Honors Luncheon as one of two named Administrator of the Year in Division I.

He has been a member of the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association (DI-AAA ADA) Executive Committee since 2012-13.The Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association's mission is to enhance initiatives common to its Division I-AAA membership (the Division I institutions that do not sponsor football).

Going back to his arrival at NJIT, Kaplan helped stabilize and expand a program that was entering its fourth year in Division II. In late 2002, after discussions with then-university President Dr. Robert A. Altenkirch and Vice President (now President) Dr. Joel Bloom, Kaplan took on the task of steering NJIT's programs into Division I, an arduous process that reached fruition with the NCAA's granting active Division I status, with full championship eligibility effective September 1, 2009.

Throughout Kaplan's tenure, NJIT has enhanced the athletics program, particularly in areas that benefit the student-athletes directly. Today, NJIT's sports offerings have expanded to the current 19 varsity programs.

Since 2004, NJIT has renovated its two main on-campus venues—Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium at Lubetkin Field and the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center prior to launching the development of the new Wellness and Events Center.

Under Kaplan's leadership, NJIT in 2011 brought on line the Naimoli Family Recreation Center to enhance recreational and intercollegiate opportunities on campus. The Naimoli Center is the home of both NJIT tennis teams.

NJIT athletics has also forged a presence in downtown Newark, playing all home baseball in the professional Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium and also hosting select basketball home games in the Prudential Center, home of the NHL's New Jersey Devils. The NJIT club hockey team also plays all of its home contests in the Barnabas Health Hockey House, which is part of the Prudential Center complex.

NJIT's growing success in Division I competition has been accompanied by a continued commitment to excellence in the university's rigorous academic environment. The combined grade point average of Highlander student-athletes has been above 3.0
for 13 straight semesters through Fall 2016.

Before coming to NJIT, Lenny Kaplan 11 years at Manhattan College, where he began as Manhattan's director of operations and was assistant athletics director from 1991-2000.