Jim Fiore

James D. Fiore Jr. (born August 13, 1968) was an American college athletics administrator. He was named the Director of Athletics at Stony Brook University on July 23, 2003.^[1] From 1999 to 2003 he held the position Senior Associate Director of Athletics at Princeton University. He was assistant athletic director Dartmouth College from 1995 until 1999, after having been a compliance intern at Fordham University.^[2]

He was relieved of his position with SBU on November 19, 2013 amid allegations of sexual harassment, misappropriation of university resources, and various forms of employment discrimination.^[3] Charges of misconduct were never lodged against Mr. Fiore. The University received a single complaint within the athletic department. Yet despite an independent investigation conducted by the New York State of Office of Labor Relations, no contract violation or violation of SUNY policy, regulation or statute was sustained. Mr. Fiore was terminated for convenience, not for cause, although his contract and the law clearly permitted termination for cause if such grounds existed. He was paid $900,000. Page text.^[4]

"We got a single complaint within the athletic department from one university employee. We took the complaint seriously and acted promptly to understand and respond to the issues raised," Stony Brook spokeswoman Lauren Sheprow said. "The university takes all claims of discrimination and sexual harassment seriously and reviews them in a timely manner."^[5]

However, excerpts from an investigative article by espnW (November 26, 2013) state the following - Fiore routinely sent inappropriate text messages from his university phone to female staff members and student-athletes, sources said. Multiple sources confirmed that Fiore would make casual threats, reminding female student-athletes that he could take away their scholarships if he wanted. He also allegedly touched female student-athletes in inappropriate ways, such as massaging their shoulders and, in one instance, rubbing the inner thigh of an athlete who was rehabilitating a leg injury, according to sources. "The way he carried himself around female athletes made us very uncomfortable," said one former student-athlete at Stony Brook. "If we saw him in the hallway, we would turn the other way or hide in the bathroom. What made it difficult was that he was the athletic director, so you couldn't say, 'Back off.'" Another source said that Fiore seemed to target younger staff members: "He thrived on these types of power plays." Numerous women who have worked within the Stony Brook athletic department said they often walked a circuitous route to their offices to avoid passing the suite where Fiore's office was located. Sources close to the athletic department said that senior staff members, including Woodruff and Larsen, were afraid of Fiore. "In this field, you're not going to get another job if you say something isn't right," one source said. "That drove a lot of people to silence." According to one document, which was not ruled upon, Stony Brook failed to interview key female coaches, staff and administrators when conducting its internal investigation into Fiore's alleged misconduct. (Source: ESPN) ^[6]

He was handed a letter that formalized the termination in the form of a buyout of the remaining 31 months of his contract for nearly $800,000. No specific reason for the decision was given to Fiore, and there was no communication from Stanley. No negotiations were involved in the buyout, which will be paid as a lump sum, because the university was acting under SUNY Board of Trustees Policy Article XI, Title D, Section 6 (g) (1), which states, in part: "Except in cases of discipline or retrenchment, in the event the University elects to terminate a term appointment before the expiration of the term, the University shall compensate the individual up to the maximum of the time remaining on the term appointment. "The policy speaks for itself," SBU media relations officer Lauren M. Sheprow said in an email to Newsday. Sheprow declined requests to interview Stanley and interim athletic director Donna Woodruff.^[7] Stony Brook University has been the beneficiary of over $200 million dollars since 2005 donated by James Simons (a hedge fund billionaire and former Stony Brook professor), and so in absence of official word it has been reasoned that Fiore was paid off the remainder of his contract to avoid legal wrangling potentially resulting in delay of his termination and lingering embarrassment to the university, as according to the ESPN article^[8]

with Fiore at the helm "The environment within the athletic department was hostile, toxic even."

Contradicting Fiore's posture that he was let go for convenience, not cause, at the opening of the renovated Stony Brook Arena in 2014, the chief project of Fiore's tenure, his name was not mentioned by any speaker, including Stanley (the university president who had fired him).

Administrative career

Dynamic Sports Management (2014-Present)

DSM has named Jim Fiore as partner, president and CEO. Fiore will be responsible for the overall management of the company and is charged with developing a business model designed to drive revenue growth, participation, event and entertainment operations, multimedia presence and overall strategic planning.^[9]

Stony Brook (2003-2013)

As athletic Director of Stony Brook University, Fiore oversaw the financial measures that balanced the athletic budget yearly since 2005 and grown the Department from $9 million to over $24 million in 2010-11 academic year.^[10] In his tenure, the athletic department captured significant donations from the alumni community, and funding from the state which allowed Stony Brook to upgrade most of its facilities. Facility upgrades include: a $1.5 million renovation of Pritchard Gymnasium in 2008, $21.1 million renovation of the Stony Brook University Arena set for completion in 2014,^[11][12] a new strength & conditioning center completed in 2012 privately funded by a $4.3 million gift from alumnus Glenn Dubin,^[13] a $1 million overhaul of the baseball facility funded in large part by alumnus Joe Nathan,^[14][15] a $3 million overhaul of University Track completed in July 2011,^[16] a Student-athlete development center funded by a $1.2 million gift by alumnus Stuart Goldstein in 2008,^[17] and a reconstruction of the University Tennis Complex. A $10 million renovation of University Swimming Pool was set for completion in 2013, but was not completed. The pool was closed, and the renovation defunded, leaving both the men's and women's teams on indefinite hiatus.^[18]

Under Fiore's tenure some notable performances occurred. The Seawolves brought home 33 conference championships, participated in postseason national tournament in 17 occasions across all sports highlighted by performances of lacrosse in the NCAA Quarterfinals,^[19] Baseball in the 2012 College World Series,^[20] Lucy Van Dalen as the first individual NCAA National Champion in track & Field^[21] and 2012 Olympian,^[22] Consecutive conference championship appearances by the men's basketball team and multiple NIT appearances, a strong Men's soccer program that advanced in the 2005 Men's College Cup and a conference powerhouse Women Cross Country programs that captured six ^[23] consecutive conference titles. Football has had consecutive second round appearances in the NCAA Championship in 2011, 2012.

It was announced on November 19, 2013 that he would be leaving Stony Brook University and replaced by Donna Woodruff as an Interim Athletic Director. While no official reason was cited publicly by the University for Fiore's abrupt dismissal, several current and past members of the athletic department charge it was due to various allegations, including, "sexual harassment, retaliation, misappropriation of university resources, discrimination against employees based on age, gender and sexual orientation." (Source: ESPN) ^[24]

Personal

Early life

Jim Fiore is a native of Long Beach, NY. Fiore graduated from Long Beach High School and went on to earn his Bachelor of Arts degree from Hofstra University, where he played free safety for the football team (1988–90).^[25] He went on continue his education at Springfield College earning a M.Ed in Athletic Administration in 1994. While at Springfield, Fiore received an Athletic Administration Fellowship (1992–94) allowing him to intern and work with Directors of Athletics while pursuing his education.

Family

Jim was married to Lisa Fiore. They have a child named Michael. Jim's father (Jim Fiore Sr) was a police officer and football coach in Long Beach, NY; he lost his battle with cancer in 2012.

See also

Stony Brook University

Stony Brook Seawolves

National Collegiate Athletic Association

References