In
1986, with the inception of football
to the school's athletic log, Sullivan
was chosen to head the athletic department,
taking over for his former mentor,
Gordie Gillespie. Gillespie became
athletic chairman, while also starting
the gridiron sport, not to mention
handling head coaching duties in baseball.
Since
then, Sullivan has gone on to capture
three Athletic Administrator of the
Year awards. The first two honors,
for NAIA District 20, came during
the initial two years in which the
award was created, 1988-89 and 1989-90.
Sullivan added the third accolade,
this time from the Chicagoland Collegiate
Athletic Conference (CCAC), eight years
ago.
With
the new millennium came another new
challenge for Sullivan. In March of
2000, he was named as both the school's
athletic chairman and Assistant to
the Vice President for University
Advancement.
Four
times Sullivan has been inducted into
halls of fame, the latest of which
came last year when he was inducted into the Providence Catholic Hall of Fame. He also was named nine summers ago in the Illinois
Basketball Coaches Association Hall
of Fame. In 1992, the prestigious
honor was awarded to him both from
his alma mater, Lewis University,
and the CCAC.
Sullivan
started his string of honors when
he graduated as the valedictorian
of his 1965 Lewis University class
and was selected as a Who's Who Among
American College and University Students
recipient that year. Since then, the
accolades have come from all over,
including: Outstanding Young Educator
of the Year in 1971, when he was at
Providence Catholic High School in
New Lenox; Community Leader of America
in 1972; Alumnus of the Year in 1981
in addition to the Alumni Athletic
Achievement Award in 1990 from Joliet
Catholic High School; and Coach of
the Year recognition no less than
12 times from a diverse number of
organizations - CCAC (five times),
Illinois Coaches Association (three),
NAIA District 20 (three) and NAIA
Area IV (once).
On
the court, Sullivan has compiled a
480-442 mark during his 31-year reign
at USF, highlighted by NAIA national
tournament appearances in the 1993-94
and 1995-96 seasons. Prior to St.
Francis, he guided the Providence
Catholic High School program for seven
years, going 93-85, resulting in an
overall coaching record of 537-477,
which ranks him 27th on Illinois'
all-time coaching win list (includes
boys'/girls' high school and men's/women's
college and junior college coaches).
Of
all his accomplishments, Sullivan
is most proud of the fact that 157
of his 161 senior student-athletes
in basketball have gone on to earn
their degrees from St. Francis.
Sullivan
has five children, Colleen, Katie,
Patrick, Bridget and Anne, and resides
in Joliet.
JACK
HERMANSKI
ASSISTANT COACH
Jack
Hermanski begins his 22nd season as
Pat Sullivan's No. 1 assistant in
2007-08. Prior to coming to USF, Hermanski
served as the head coach at Romeoville
High School for seven seasons, culminating
with a fourth-place finish in the
1986 state tournament.
Other
coaching stints have included stops
at Arcata H.S. (CA) and his alma mater,
Humboldt State University (CA), where
he was the team's No. 1 rebounder
as well as an all-conference and all-Far
West selection as a player.
A
product of Mt. Carmel H.S., Hermanski
earned a bachelor of arts degree in
physical education therapy and a master's
degree in communications at Humboldt
State.
Hermanski,
who retired from teaching in June,
taught physical education and adaptive
physical education therapy in Valley
View District from 1976-2004. Before
that, he was an English teacher in
Joliet.
He
is single and resides in Diamond.
JEFF
MERSEREAU
ASSISTANT COACH
Jeff
Mersereau's tenure with the USF men's
basketball program dates back to 1992,
when he was hired as a student manager.
He served in that capacity until graduating
in 1997.
After
earning his degree, Mersereau remained
on the coaching staff as a scout,
which remains his primary responsibility.
The
Joliet Central High School graduate
is single and resides in Joliet.
