John Harper spent 21 years as the Director of Athletics & Recreation at Bridgewater State beginning in 1991. Under Harper’s leadership, the BSU athletics program flourished with highly competitive teams and dramatically upgraded facilities including Alumni Park, the Tinsley Center and Swenson Field. Among the many team highlights at the national level include the runner-up finish by the softball team in 1994, the baseball team’s third place showing in 1996 and seventh place performance in 1997, and the Sweet Sixteen run by the men’s basketball team in 2009.  Bridgewater also captured the prestigious Smith Cup, which goes annually to the top MASCAC program, 11 times during his tenure after earning it just once the previous 19 years. Harper received numerous awards and honors at both the national and regional level including the NACDA Division Northeast Region Athletics Director of the Year in 2003 and the ECAC DIII Male Administrator of the Year in 2011.  He received the Boston Globe South Sectional Sportsman of the Year Award in 2000 as well as the Games Director of the Year Award and John and Maria Hanlon Award from Massachusetts Special Olympics in 1999 and 2003, respectively.  John was also honored by the Massachusetts chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2011 and was selected as the NEWA Administrator of the Year in 2013.  John earned his undergraduate degree from Ithaca College in 1971 and completed his Masters degree at Indian University in 1974.  John and his wife, Ann, who reside here in Bridgewater, have two sons, Jonathan and Jason, and twin grandchildren, Clayton and Skyler.