In the summer of 1974, Frank Sullivan had just completed his first year as an English teacher and junior varsity basketball coach at Millis High. The phone rang. Rollie Massimino, his former coach at Lexington High who was entering his second season as men’s coach at Villanova University, was on the line.
“He said, ‘get in the car and come down here,’’’ recalled Sullivan. “ . . . that call changed my life.
“Back in high school, so many of us were impacted by Rollie’s presence and the attitude we developed toward athletics, teamwork and competition. I knew I wanted to be a coach because of him.’’
His high school teammate, Paul Cormier, is in his second stint as the men’s basketball coach at Dartmouth College.
Sullivan assisted Massimino for three seasons, earning a graduate degree in guidance from Villanova during his stay. He has been involved with college game ever since, as a coach or as an administrator.
A West Newton resident, the 64-year-old Sullivan is in his ninth season as associate commissioner of the America East Conference. His wife, Susan, is a professor at Suffolk University. Their daughter, Katy Dandurand, is communications manager at Newton Country Day School.
“I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to provide a certain insight within the conference,’’ Sullivan said, “and I definitely sleep better these days because coaching can be a grind.
“Still, at my core, I’m a coach. And athletics have made me extremely disciplined, loyal to the people I work with and proud of what I do.’’
His duties with the America East include working as a color commentator alongside Eric Freede for ESPN3 broadcasts, primary administrator for men’s basketball and supervisor of men’s and women’s basketball officials.
As a 5-foot-10 guard, Sullivan captained the basketball team at Westfield State College, graduating in 1973 with a degree in English. In addition to Villanova, he worked as an assistant at Lehigh and Seton Hall before landing his first head coaching position at Bentley, guiding the Falcons to a 114-86 record that included trips to the NCAA Division 2 tournament in 1985 and 1989.
“I had followed Bentley growing up and I was fortunate to coach there. Basketball was a primary focus of the athletic department’s resources and the program’s tradition started with its first coach, Al Shields,’’ said Sullivan. One of his former assistants, Jay Lawson, is in his 24th season at the helm of the program.
As the head coach at Harvard (1991-2007), he was 178-245 overall and holds the Crimson record for career coaching victories. His 1996-97 squad was 17-9 overall and 10-4 in the Ivy League.
Sullivan said he “hit it off’’ with Bill Cleary, the university’s former athletic director. Not being rehired “was a disappointment,’’ he said.
“I miss coaching every day. But when there’s a change administratively, sometimes coaching changes go with it.’’
Prior to his final season, Sullivan and his staff recruited a 6-foot-3 guard named Jeremy Lin out of Palo Alto High School.
“I saw Jeremy as a high school senior,’’ recalled Sullivan of Lin, who went to become a three-time All-Ivy selection for the Crimson.
“He had a fearless atttitude in critical situations.’’
A six-year pro in the NBA, Lin currently suits up for the Charlotte Hornets.
Marvin Pave can be reached at marvin.pave@rcn.com.
