Albany, NY— The Sage Colleges is pleased to announce the appointment of alumna Sandy Augstein-Collins (Schenectady, NY) to Director of Athletics at The Sage Colleges. She will assume leadership of the department in early July following the departure of long-time Director of Athletics, Dani Drews, who resigned in June to accept a position within the department of athletics at SUNY-Brockport.
Augstein-Collins joined Sage's athletic department in 2011 as Associate Athletic Director and Head Women's Volleyball Coach. Of her appointment, Augstein-Collins said, "Sage has always been near and dear to my heart and I am thrilled to take on this new role and provide the necessary leadership going forward for our coaches and student-athletes."
As an administrator, Augstein-Collins served as the department's Senior Woman Administrator (SWA), while also supervising Sage's academic support and leadership development programs. In addition, she has expanded her administrative skills, and continued her professional development, while pursuing her doctoral degree in Sport and Exercise Performance. In her six years with the Gators, she led her volleyball team to three regular-season conference titles and a trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament in 2014. Having also served one season as Sage's head men's volleyball coach, she led the team to a conference runner-up finish and an ECAC Division III North Championship.
Sage's Vice President for Student Life, Trish Cellemme noted that, "The growth and stability of Sage's athletic programs are critically important to our future." Cellemme added, "I am certain that Sandy is the right person to continue to move us forward and drive us toward excellence. I am thrilled that she has agreed to serve."
Prior to her arrival in 2011, Augstein-Collins had previously served as head women's volleyball coach at Union College (Schenectady NY) for 11 years, where she set high-water marks for the volleyball program, earning 219 career wins.
She received her B.S. in physical education from Russell Sage College in 1987, where she also played intercollegiate volleyball. She received her Master of Physical Education with a concentration in teaching and administration from Springfield College in 1997. Augstein-Collins was inducted into the Russell Sage Athletics Hall of Fame on October 14, 2006.
Augstein-Collins takes over at an exciting time for Sage. The Gators have recently announced the addition of two new varsity programs, field hockey and men's lacrosse and will be starting competition in the Empire 8 this fall. "It is certainly an exciting time for Sage Athletics with the addition of two new athletic programs and moving into a new conference," Augstein-Collins said. "I am looking forward to seeing the development of our new teams and the continued success of our teams in the Empire 8 Conference."
