Annie Mattarazzo will become the new NHTI athletics director, and the first female to assume the role in the college’s history. Mattarazzo was previously the athletic director for Bishop Brady High School in Concord and an assistant basketball coach at the collegiate level.

Mattarazzo will join the 25% of women who are directors of athletics as of 2023, up from 20% in 2011-12, in collegiate athletics according to the NCAA. 

“I think the growth of women’s sports has been phenomenal, especially with those who have flourished at the collegiate level and professional level most recently,” said Mattarazzo. “This growth is something that I am passionate about and will continue to play a role in any way I can, especially empowering student-athletes to explore coaching and athletic administration opportunities themselves in their future.”

Before NHTI, she oversaw the operations of Bishop Brady’s 23 varsity programs, managed communications and the website, and hired coaches on top of being a math and leadership teacher. She hopes to bring this experience to NHTI’s 13 women’s and men’s teams.

“The mission of NHTI is really something that appealed to me. They strive very deeply into the innovation component, the creative thinking component of all who work there,  the ability to take an athletic department and create my own vision,” she said. “To work in cohesiveness with the school, to grow the branding, the marketing, and the opportunities that lie within the institution. I also really enjoy the diverse community and the why students attend and why student-athletes go there.”

Mattarazzo started coaching at Bishop Brady in spring 2016 as an assistant for softball and then began teaching at the school in fall 2016.  She became the head coach of the girls’ basketball program for the 2016-17 season. She left in 2019 to start her family, but returned in 2021 to Brady and became the AD again after missing the role.

“It’s between high school and college. I’m very familiar with the community feel in those places. But obviously, there’s an NCAA component and eligibility and recruiting opportunities, which is part of the reason  why I accepted the position because it really is kind of the best of both worlds that I love,” she said.

Mattarazzo was also awarded the Clyde W. Meyerhoefer Award from the NH Athletic Directors Association in 2018 for excellence in the field. 

“Annie is extraordinarily well known, respected, and loved in the Concord community and athletics more generally. Just as Paul Hogan essentially created NHTI’s athletics program over the last two decades, Annie will shape our women’s and men’s sports for the next chapter,” said President Patrick Tompkins in a press release.

Mattarazzo is a New Hampshire native who graduated from Trinity High School as a three-year varsity basketball player. She then went on to play for Plymouth State University and in AAU summer leagues. She was an assistant women’s basketball coach at UMass Lowell, Adelphi University and Carnegie-Mellon University. 

“I come from the collegiate ranks and understand the scheduling, the preparation, the organization that goes into athletic planning, and I have a passion for it,” said Mattarazzo. 

She hopes her leadership will make a lasting impact that empowers students and coaches at NHTI. 

“I love what I do. I'll tell anybody that I think the student-athlete experience, whether at the high school or collegiate level, is truly something special,” she said. “They're there to take risks, create memories, define their own definition of success during their time as student-athletes, and that's super powerful for me. I think my leadership style is definitely a very energetic and passionate approach.”

With the maiden Alosa before marrying Andrew Matarazzo, Concord High School’s girls’ soccer head coach, Annie Mattarazzo comes from a family that has a long-standing relationship with athletics at Brady and around the state. Leaving was not an easy choice, but she felt ready to jump back into collegiate athletics.

Mattarazzo’s father, Sal, served as her assistant AD at Brady and as a long-time basketball coach, while her brother, Sal Alosa Jr. was a ski coach there. Her uncle, Frank Alosa, started the AAU Granite Raiders program after serving as a high school coach. His son, Matt, was a UNH basketball player, and coached the Pembroke Academy, his alma mater, team to a D-II championship.

Mattarazzo will begin full-time in November at NHTI after the fall sports season ends.

“At first, I want to go really learn and take in as much,” she said. “So I'm being patient and empowering the people around me. My first goal is to really just take time to get to know everyone, listen to their feedback and their energy.”

Alexander Rapp can be contacted at arapp@cmonitor.com