NJIT Promotes Lenny Kaplan to Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics
Lenny Kaplan, who has headed New Jersey Institute of Technology's division of physical education and athletics since August 2000, has been promoted to the new title of associate vice president/director of athletics.
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.
A highlight in Kaplan's career was being named Athletic Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) in 2019 and in September 2015, he was lauded at the annual Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Honors Luncheon as one of two named Administrator of the Year in Division I.
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 and 350 student-athletes.
NJIT Athletics entered a new era in Fall 2019 after the completion of its highly anticipated outdoor multipurpose facility, Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium. The state-of-the-art facility is the home for NJIT men's and women's soccer and men's lacrosse programs. When paired with the $102 million on-campus facility, the Wellness and Events Center, it gives the Highlanders one of the elite athletic venues in the Northeast.
The 2018-19 academic year saw momentous accomplishments and change for Highlander athletics.
In competition, outdoor track and field graduate student Alex Ortega became the second Highlander in the Division I era to qualify for the NCAA East Preliminary meet.
The men's basketball and women's soccer teams set program records for wins and posted the program's first postseason victory in the ASUN Conference.
The men's fencing team captured the 2019 MACFA Championship highlighted by a first-place finish by Brett Bogert in the men's epee for the second consecutive season and a program-best 21-6 overall mark.
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 21 straight semesters through Spring 2019.
In the classroom, 243 student-athletes were named to the ASUN Conference Honor Roll, 10 teams were recognized as All-Academic teams by their National governing bodies and three Highlander programs received NCAA Academic Performance Public Recognition.
Highlander student-athletes remain active in the Newark and local community logging over 3000 community service hours annually.
Before coming to NJIT, Kaplan served 11 years at Manhattan College, where he began as Manhattan's director of operations and was assistant athletics director from 1991-2000.
A native of Merrick, New York, Kaplan and his wife Nancy have two sons, Michael and Joshua.
