Steve Napolillo is setting the tone for Providence basketball. His legacy depends on it.
Name: Steve Napolillo
Age: 44
Hometown: Cranston; now living in North Kingstown.
Position: Vice president/athletic director, Providence College.
Steve Napolillo had plenty of familiar company while walking the streets of the Bahamas.
Providence College’s vice president/athletic director was in Nassau for a two-game men’s basketball event in November. Friars fans traveled in droves to escape the encroaching winter weather and support their team. It was a high-profile challenge for one of Napolillo’s most important hires in his young tenure.
“Every decision I make really impacts so many people – not only for the present, but for the future,” Napolillo said. “You have to be ready.
“People always say to me, ‘Are you surprised?’" he said. "I’m never surprised at anything.”
He reacted quickly when Ed Cooley left his childhood home after 12 seasons and went to Georgetown. Napolillo enticed Kim English away from George Mason, securing his top target. He also made a change on the women’s basketball side, replacing Jim Crowley with Erin Batth.
“The biggest confidence I had is that we were prepared for it,” Napolillo said. “I feel that we got the perfect candidates.”
Success or failure in those two roles will help shape Napolillo’s early legacy. He graduated from Providence College in the early 2000s and returned to his alma mater in 2004 after a corporate stint with the Pawtucket Red Sox. He celebrated with men’s hockey coach Nate Leaman after PC won a national championship in 2015, and he’d like to experience something similar with the Friars in every sport.
“I think you know how much I love the place and how much it means to me,” Napolillo said.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Steve Napolillo is setting the tone for Providence basketball
