Cathleen 'Cathy' Coakley enters her fifth year as UNH’s Coordinator of Student-Athlete Development in 2012-13.

Coakley spearheads a comprehensive educational program to enhance the personal development and welfare of the University’s student-athletes. Coakley works with several other areas of student-athlete development, including the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), first-year student-athlete lifeskills education, community service activities involving UNH student-athletes, and four-year leadership curriculum for the student-athletes. In addition, she has established – and will continue to establish – networks and act as a liaison with campus departments and constituencies.

Coakley has an extensive career in both athletics and higher education. Before her return to UNH,  she was an instructor of Sports Marketing in the Kinesiology Department at James Madison University and coordinated all practicum and internships required of Sport Management majors. In that position, Coakley taught personal and professional development as well as life skills to the students (including athletes) within the major. While at JMU, she served as Assistant Field Hockey coach from 2005-07 and helped guide the Dukes to the CAA championship and NCAA tournament appearance in 2007.

Prior to her tenure at JMU, Coakley worked in collegiate basketball. She started her collegiate coaching career at UNH as an assistant under Cecelia DeMarco from 1977-79. Coakley moved on to become head coach at Fordham University from 1979-84 and served as an assistant under Joy Malchodi at Northeastern University from 1996-2000. The Huskies won the America East championship in 1999, advancing to the NCAA Tournament.

Coakley earned her Bachelor's Degree in Earth Science and her Master's Degree in Education Administration at UNH.