New Paltz, NY --- Renee Bostic officially became the new State University of New York at New Paltz Director of Athletics, Wellness and Recreation July 1, 2021, taking over the role from Hawks women's volleyball coach Matt Giufre who served as the interim director throughout the 2020-21 academic year. 

Bostic will ultimately forge a new path that was first built by long-time director Stuart Robinson who officially stepped down in 2020 to take a similar role at New York University. Prior to taking on the position with the Hawks, Bostic was the Director of Athletics, Wellness & Recreation at Notre Dame of Maryland University for the past four years and was most recently named as the NCAA Division III Athletics Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics in 2021. 

Before entering a career in athletic administration, Bostic was a former women's basketball college athlete and coach. She played two season for Holy Cross after two seasons at Clark University, graduating with a bachelor's degree following her career with the Crusaders. She went on to coach women's basketball at West Virginia State University, Institute, Robert Morris College in Chicago and Hostos Community College in the Bronx. The Queens, NY native also served as a WNBA scout early in her career for the Minnesota Lynx and Washington Mystics, scouting regional games and preparing reports for both organizations. 

The newly appointed SUNY New Paltz Director of Athletics Wellness and Recreation recently sat down with Hawks Athletic Communications staff to talk more about herself, what she envisions in her new role and goals she hopes to attain while at the helm of the Hawks. 

Read the full transcription of the Q&A below and to watch the full interview, click here:

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Why Choose SUNY New Paltz?

People, the history, and the location. The people here are awesome. I've been here for a little bit under a month, I feel like I'm still a little baby because I'm still in weeks. And everybody has been so welcoming. Watching from afar before I got here, there is great athletic history, and you always want to be part of some place that is already doing good things. And the location. I'm a native New Yorker, I'm from Queens, and, you know, it's an hour and a half back to the city, back to my family, back to my friends. So, it's perfect. It's the best of both worlds. 


What are you most looking forward to as the new Director of Athletics, Wellness & Recreation? 

Coming off the last year and a half, I'm just excited to get out on the fields, have our student athletes come back to campus, and get back to some sense of normalcy in regards to competition and engagement. 

What do you think will be the biggest challenges you will face as the new AD? 

Just getting a chance to know everybody. You know, this is a big place, with a lot of things, a lot of moving parts. So, just, you know, engaging with enough folks to learn the lay of the land to make sure that all of our operations are seamless. 

What's something that most people don't know about you?

Well, my two favorite foods are barbecue and pizza, and sometimes they are together and sometimes they're apart. My favorite pastime is shopping for shoes, so I think my shoe game is really, you know, sneakers, dress shoes, flats. So those are two things that I think you should know. So, if you see me, comment on my shoe game because it's usually going to be something different every day. 

How many pairs of shoes do you think you own?

I just moved so I can categorize that. I probably have about 65 pairs of shoes. I know I've got 65 boxes, so how many shoes I have, there are some that aren't in boxes. But, 65 boxes. 

What do you pride yourself on most as a leader? 

Being honest and open. So what you see is what you get, and I'm a straight shooter. 

What do you love most about your job? 

The interaction with student-athletes. I had a great experience as a student-athlete as an undergrad, which made me want to get into working in college athletics because I love coming to work everyday. You know, people say when you get a career that you have to love what you do and you'll never feel like you work. I feel like I work sometimes, but I love what I do. 

How much potential do you see in this department and how will you help it grow? 

There's tons of potential. We have great people here, and attest to that is that people have been here for a while. You know, when people stay places, they're staying because there are good things happening. So, I'm excited to just be part of that trend and just keep it moving. And, you know, if something is not broke, you know, we don't need to fix it. Let's just keep rolling, and making it bigger and better and growing from where we are. 

How do you think being a former coach helped your transition into an administrative role, and any aspects of coaching that you still miss?

Well, as an administrator, I always say that I am the coach of the coaches. So, that's how I work as an administrator. I always, you know, try to put myself in their shoes and how I thought when I was a women's basketball coach. You know, working with them, and you being able to see the bigger picture. Looking back when I was a women's basketball coach, I always thought everything revolved around women's basketball, you know, the sun rose and set on a women's basketball court. But, as an administrator, you have a chance to see everybody, and, you know, looking to see how it affects everybody. So, I try to just bring that perspective to the coaches to help everybody be on the same accord. And the thing that I miss most about not coaching is practice. So, I'm definitely going to be at your practices watching, because that's the thing that I love most about competition is to see the preparation and to see the growth from preparing for a game, competing in a game, winning the game, you know, keeping it moving. So, you know, look out for me on the sidelines because I'll be there watching and seeing how you practice and enjoying the fruits of your labor when you compete. 

Have you set any goals for this year? And what do you hope to accomplish in your new role? 

The biggest goal that I have right now is to listen and learn. And to, you know, listen to folks and see what the good things are here, see what the things are that we need to improve and grow upon and build upon. And then take that information and build as we move forward. I'm somewhat the outsider right now, and I'm going to use all my insiders to help us, you know, keep it moving.

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