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In late July, 2007, Thorr Bjorn became the 11th Director of Athletics in University of Rhode Island history. Since that day, he has worked tirelessly to instill a new championship culture in Kingston. "We want to be champions in the three most important areas: in competition, in the classroom, and in the community," Bjorn said. "Our athletics department is wholly committed to making the necessary changes in order to achieve a true winning attitude." In competition, Rhode Island's 2008-09 athletics programs showed the results of Bjorn's championship culture and his commitment to excellence in all facets. The baseball team won a program-record 37 games, defeating four nationally ranked opponents - including a shutout at No. 8 and national powerhouse Miami. The men's basketball team won 23 games and advanced to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament. In the classroom, 151 Rhode Island student-athletes earned a 3.5 grade-point average or better and were named to the Atlantic 10 Commissioners Honor Roll. Jimmy Baron, a member of the men's basketball team, was named to the 2009 ESPN the Magazine Second Team Academic All-American and earned the ECAC Robbins Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Three others: Shayna Daugherty (women's track & field), Grace Hedstrom (women's tennis) and Oliver Palmer (baseball) earned ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District honors. "It is a true point of pride to have so many of our student-athletes being honored for their academic achievements," said Bjorn. "To have so many of our student-athletes performing on and off the field of competition is a tribute to the hard work of so many involved with Rhode Island Athletics." Many of the Rams' athletic programs and student-athletes have made an impact in the community. Several teams participated in a local National Reading Week promotion this past April, traveling to local elementary schools to read and interact with the students. The volleyball team took part in a Habitat for Humanity activity, while the baseball team participated in the Rhode Island Autism Project walk during the fall. Head coach Joe Trainer and the football program organized a bone marrow drive during the spring. Additionally, URI athletics sponsored its third annual "Pink Out" during a nationally televised men's basketball game, which raised more than $10,000 for a local breast cancer awareness charity. Bjorn's championship attitude is rooted in a philosophy in which everyone in the URI athletics department is a fundraiser and marketer. "We need to be tireless in our efforts to bring in external dollars - not just to sustain, but rather to grow all of our programs," Bjorn explained. "As we go out into the community, we have the opportunity to `sell' URI and our mission to our current and future donors, sponsors and ticket buyers. We have to continue to move forward and become increasingly creative in how we accomplish our goals." Bjorn has helped cultivate donations of close to 2 million dollars toward the Student-Athlete Development Center (SADC) which includes the construction of a new 8,000-10,000 square foot weight room, along with renovated athletic training room and academic support area. "To reach that dollar amount in such a short period of time shows the tremendous passion for URI athletics by our alumni and friends," he added. "We expect that this is just the beginning, as we work to raise $3.5 million for the SADC and another $1.5 million for other important athletic facility upgrades under the umbrella of the University's `Making a Difference' capital campaign." He serves as chair of the Atlantic 10 scheduling policy committee, while sitting on the A-10's television and men's basketball championship site selection committees. On the national level, Bjorn was recently named to the NCAA Division I women's rowing committee. Bjorn came to Kingston after spending 15 years at his alma mater - the University of Massachusetts - in a variety of athletic administrative roles. At the time of his hire, Bjorn had entered his fourth year as the senior associate athletic director at UMass, serving as the day-to-day sport supervisor for football and ice hockey, while also overseeing the men's and women's lacrosse programs. He directly supervised the UMass athletic marketing staff, corporate sales - including the UMass Radio Network, coaches shows and signage - and ticket operations. Bjorn also served as liaison between the athletic department and Global Spectrum - the management company for the William D. Mullins Center, home of UMass basketball and hockey. Bjorn played an integral role in UMass' department-wide apparel deal with adidas, oversaw all aspects of the funding and installation of a multi-million dollar video scoreboard system in the Mullins Center, and helped to secure funding sources for a new artificial surface at Alumni Stadium - home of the nationally-ranked Minutemen football program. From Sept. 2003-Feb. 2004, Bjorn was the interim athletic director at UMass. In that role, he oversaw all the department, including supervising a senior administrative staff of 10 associate and assistant athletic directors, as well as the head football, men's basketball, and men's ice hockey. During his tenure, he negotiated a contract extension with Don "Toot" Cahoon, head men's ice hockey coach, and was the athletic department liaison in a viability study on elevating to Division I-A (now "BCS") football status. After a three-year stint as the director of regional sales and marketing for Resorts Sports Network in Portland, Maine, Bjorn returned to UMass in April of 2003 as the Associate AD/External Affairs. At RSN - a company which provides cable systems with programming at ski resorts - he was personally accountable for $1 million in television and web advertising revenue. In his role as Associate AD, Bjorn was responsible for soliciting all radio and television advertising and corporate sponsorship dollars for the athletic department, Mullins Center, and UMass Magazine - a total exceeding $1 million dollars. Under his watch, annual sponsorship revenue increased by over 135 percent. Bjorn also directed the department's retail merchandise program, coordinated advertising campaigns and directed the ticket office. He also established "MinuteFan Park," an interactive fan experience at Alumni Stadium. After graduating from UMass and spending six months as an intern in the business office at the University of Connecticut, he returned to his alma mater as assistant athletic director for tickets and game operations in December of 1990, a position he held until being promoted in 1996. A three-year letterwinner for the Minutemen football program, he earned his bachelor's degree in sports management from UMass in 1990, following with a master's degree in higher education from his alma mater in 1995. He met his wife Cyndy at UMass, and the couple has three daughters, twins Stephanie and Robyn, 12 and Rachael, 9. The Bjorn family resides in North Kingstown. updated: 9/18/09 |
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