UNION-- Jack McKiernan, Associate Director of Athletics at Kean University and President-Elect of the New Jersey Athletic Conference Board of Athletic Administrators, has been named as the chair of the NCAA Division III Baseball Committee. McKiernan, who is in the midst of a four-year term, begins his one-year appointment as chair in September and is eligible for reappointment as chair for a second term. McKiernan will oversee the committee along with NCAA staff liaison Patrick Hairston.
The NCAA Baseball Committee is responsible for determining the host institution and sites of all rounds of competition of the championship. During tournament competition, they supervise practices and attend all meetings. During the course of the year, the committee is responsible for revising and updating the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship Handbook and other materials. The committee determines the regional alignment and allocations of bids for the championship as well as determines the format for regional and championship competition. While at the regionals, each committee member serves as the NCAA liaison. In addition, the members serve as chairs of respective regional committees, develop and review agenda items for the annual meeting and attend the meeting held in July.
McKiernan has been at Kean for the past nine years spending the first five as the Sports Information Director and the last four in his current role. Under his leadership, Kean's athletic program and facilities have risen to national prominence.
Having worked for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), Montclair State University and the Meadowlands Racetrack, McKiernan returned to his alma mater Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick in 1999 as a graduate assistant. His term in New Brunswick was highlighted when, as a media assistant, he traveled with the women's basketball team during the NCAA Tournament all the way to the 2000 Final Four in Philadelphia, Pa., not long before accepting his post at Kean.
A four-year letter winner for the Rutgers football squad, McKiernan was the Scarlet Knights' captain as a senior in 1997.
McKiernan earned his Bachelor of Science degree in exercise science and sports studies from Rutgers University in 1998 and a Master of Arts in administration and supervision from Montclair State University in 2000.