Siena University Athletics

Fr. Fitzgerald served as Siena’s first athletic director from 1939-55 and was the person who hired Dan Cunha in 1941 to coach the Indians. Fitzgerald was instrumental in recruiting the players, expanding the schedule, obtaining the Washington Avenue Armory for home games and securing four games in Madison Square Garden. For his accomplishments, he was heralded as the " the father of big-time basketball" at Siena. He died on December 20, 1993, at the age of 91, after serving as a professed friar for 68 years.