Sacred Heart names Bobby V athletic director

Sacred Heart University will officially introduce former New York Mets and Boston Red Sox manager and ESPN baseball analyst Bobby Valentine as executive director of intercollegiate athletics tomorrow at 11 a.m.

Valentine, a Stamford native, is known for his colorful and sometimes hard-nosed personality. He will replace outgoing athletic director C. Donald Cook.

Sacred Heart, in Fairfield, boasts 31 NCAA Division I varsity teams, including 17 women’s and 14 men’s squads, and has more than 700 student athletes. SHU teams compete in the Northeast Conference in 23 sports, with the university one of the charter members of the Atlantic Hockey Association.

Since transitioning to Division I athletics in 1999, SHU’s teams have won 27 Northeast Conference championships and have made 22 NCAA championship appearances.