The 2009 Varsity Club Honoree was Brian J. Baptiste '72, assistant director of athletics and head mens basketball coach at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Mr. Baptiste was honored at the Varsity Club Dinner, May 14.

Annually, for the past 40 years, the Varsity Club has selected an honoree who excelled at sports while at the Academy and who went on to a successful career in athletics.

During his postgraduate year at Worcester Academy, Mr. Baptiste played both varsity soccer and varsity basketball. He is a 1976 graduate of American International College, where he enjoyed an outstanding playing career.

In his 26 seasons as head coach at UMass Dartmouth, Mr. Baptiste has coached his mens basketball teams such that they have earned a reputation as being among the best NCAA Division III teams in the nation. His career record is 502-214.

Coach Baptiste's teams have qualified for postseason play 17 times, including 13 appearances in the NCAA Division III tournament. His teams have won 13 Little East Conference regular season championships and 11 postseason playoff titles in the 20-year history of the conference. His teams have posted winning records 22 times.

UMass Dartmouth has advanced to the NCAA Division III Northeast Region championship game four times, winning the regional title in both 1986 and again in 1992. UMass Dartmouth had its finest season in 1992-93, advancing to the NCAA Division III Final Four.

Mr. Baptiste was named 2007-2008 Little East Conference Coach of the Year. He was formerly the chair of the Northeast Division III Men's Basketball Selection Committee, and now represents the Little East Conference as a National Association of Basketball Coaches congressman.

Mr. Baptiste and his wife, Kathryn, reside in Dartmouth and are the parents of four daughters.

Previous Varsity Club honorees include:

George T. Abdow '49, Ronald J. Abdow '50, Steve R. Adelman '64, Jeffrey G. Bannister '65, Richard P. Carlisle '79, Stephanie J. Carlson '80, William Carmen '37, Archie W. Cataldi '50, Louis C. D'Allesandro '56, Francis A. DeFelice '58, Robert Dobias '49, Daniel E. Doyle '68, Raymond J. Forkey '36, David R. Gavitt, Chester S. Gladchuk '69, Yvonne P. Goldsberry '78, Herman Gundlach '31, Robert F. Hall '62, Leon A. Hannigan '49, Nevin D. Harkness '39, John A. Hart '80, Brian B. Herosian '69, Ralph Hewitt '28, Anton Hulman '20, Paul N. Johnson '36, Mark P. Johnson '86, Alexander W. Kulevich '54, Armand LaMontagne '58, Henry P. McCarthy '49, J. Howard McHugh '30, Edward J. Mingolla '57, Paul M. Mitchell '68, Donn C. Nelson '82, James S. O'Leary '70, John F. O'Leary '36, John J. Pietro '48, William W. Reynolds '64, Donald E. Rowe '47, John E. Ryan '40, William P. Samko '69, Harvey P. Sargisson '24, Paul V. Shannon '31, Peter J. Sullivan '58, Willard L. Tibbetts '22, William A. Toomey '57, and Timothy J. Welsh '80.