Bob DeFelice (1999) - Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

Bob DeFelice

Class
Induction

1999
Sport(s)

Baseball Coach

Director of Athletics, 1991-2019
Baseball Coach, 1969-2022
Engineered tremendous growth in Bentley’s athletics program and facilities during his nearly 30 years as Director of Athletics
- Renovation and expansion of Dana Athletic Center
- Spearheaded the building of the $45 million Bentley Arena, home of Bentley’s Division I hockey team
- New baseball field, which bears his name
- New soccer field and track
- Renovation of the football stadium
- Bentley athletic teams won 120 conference championships during his nearly 30 years as Director of Athletics, as well as two national championships (2001 field hockey, 2014 women’s basketball)
- Bentley captured the Northeast-10 President’s Cup eight times, emblematic of the best overall athletic program in the conference
- Bentley student-athletes, during his tenure, regularly ranked amongst the conference bests, in terms of Commissioner’s Honor Roll, Sport Excellence Awards, Team Academic Awards and Academic All-Conference accolades
- Bentley is regularly among the national leads in NCAA Academic Success Rate and has been ranked first for five consecutive years.
Ranks third all-time among Division II East Region baseball coaches in career wins, behind Frank Vieira and Ron Davies
54 years as baseball coach is tied for second most among all NCAA college baseball coaches all-time
Northeast-10 Baseball Coach of the Year in 1994 and 2013
Has been inducted into nine Halls of Fame
- Boston College Hall of Fame
- Bentley Athletic Hall of Fame
- Winthrop High School Hall of Fame
- New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association Hall of Fame
- Massachusetts Chapter, National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame
- Intercity Baseball League Hall of Fame
- Boston Park League Hall of Fame
- Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame
- Union Printers International Baseball League Hall of Fame
Helped establish the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference
Founder and first commissioner of the Eastern Football Conference, the precursor of Northeast-10 Conference football
Countless awards include Jack Butterfield Award from the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association, Murray Lewis Award from the Eastern Association of Intercollegiate Football Officials, Whitey Allard and Marty McDonough Memorial Sportsmanship Award from the College Baseball Umpires Association of New England, and the George C. Carens Award from the New England Football Writers for lifelong contributions to the sport of football.
In addition to the baseball field, the hockey rink and the plaza outside the Arena bear his name