Niagara University, NY (May 29, 2001) - Jim Mauro has stepped down as the Niagara baseball coach to concentrate full-time on his duties as Associate Director of Athletics at Niagara University. Mauro, who was Niagara's head coach for 13 seasons, led Niagara to a school record 25 wins this past season. The university will begin to seek a full-time baseball coach to lead the Niagara program.

"In his re-tooled associate director of athletics position, Jim will be working directly with the coaches and student-athletes," said Mike Hermann, Director of Athletics. "Through his full-time efforts, his years of experience as a coach and student-athlete will benefit all of our program. Building the baseball program does not begin to explain the effort and results during Jim's 13 years as Niagara's head baseball coach. He literally built the program with his own hands, not only working with his team to completely rebuild the field in 1995, but through his tireless care of the field throughout the summer months. He was able to develop the Niagara program into a competitive unit during a time when recruiting budgets and full-time coaches were non-existent at Niagara. He never let those limitations stop him from putting a solid baseball team on the field. And in recent years, he has continued to keep the program competitive and improving, even though most of our competitors had full-time head coaches."

"When I took over the program 14 years ago, my main goal was to leave the program in better shape than it was when I started," said Mauro. "With a tremendous amount of help from friends and players, we have achieved that goal. The next coach will be able to concentrate on baseball solely, and that will allow it to move to the next level. The league has improved tremendously, and for us to move up, we need to have a full-time person. Our athletic department has grown significantly, and subsequently, so have my administrative duties. Balancing the two positions became extremely difficult."

Mauro compiled a 189-286-2 overall record in 13 seasons at the helm of the Purple Eagles program. This past season, he guided Niagara to a 25-20 record, missing a spot in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference playoffs by one-half game. He led Niagara to the MAAC North Division Title in 1997, earning MAAC Coach of the Year honors that season, as well. In 1992, Mauro led Niagara to a 17-16 record, the first time since the mid-70's that Niagara fielded a winning team.

During his tenure, Mauro was responsible for the many improvements at John P. Bobo Field. In the fall of 1995, with the help of former NU players, the players and coaching staff totally refurbished the entire infield. Other improvements included the new backstop, outfield fences and sideline fencing. Three of Mauro's players, Ray Bielanin (1989), Shawn Turri (1990) and Carm Panaro (1996), signed professional contracts. Five players have won the Kevin Mulkern Award, given to the top graduating student-athlete based on a combination of academic and athletic achievement. Those winners include Hans Blatter, Ryan Diodati, Frank Tabaczynski, Cory Pike and Peter Nastasi. 97 percent of Mauro's senior ballplayers have graduated.