Dan Mara, an award-winning administrator and a hall-of-fame coach, is in his 20th year as Commissioner of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. Mara arrived at the CACC office in 2006 after 11 years as the Associate Vice President for Athletics and Fitness at CACC-member Post University. He is the third-longest tenured commissioner in NCAA Division II.
Mara started in intercollegiate athletics as Assistant Athletics Director at Mitchell College. His duties included sports information as well as coordinating recruitment for all sports. During his time as recruiting coordinator, Mitchell teams won five national titles and 40 New England championships. He began coaching as an assistant softball coach and an assistant women's basketball coach in 1977, and his first head coaching position was as Mitchell's baseball coach in 1979. He became the head women's basketball coach in 1984 and led the softball team in 1990 and 1991.
Mara coached the Mitchell College women's basketball team for 10 seasons and compiled a career won-lost record of 289-16 (.947). His teams won 10 National Junior College Athletic Association New England titles and reached two NJCAA Final Fours. During five different seasons, Mitchell was ranked No. 1 in the NJCAA national poll.
Mitchell established a national record for consecutive regular-season victories. The streak, which ultimately reached 234, was at 223 straight wins when Mara departed Mitchell to become the Director of Athletics at Post University. Mitchell fashioned undefeated regular-season records in every campaign from 1987-88 until his departure after the 1994-95 season. The 1994-95 team, which reached the NJCAA Final Four, was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.
Mara was named NJCAA New England Women's Basketball Coach of the Year nine times, Colonial States Athletic Conference Coach of the Year six times, NJCAA District Coach of the Year three times, and Converse District One Coach of the Year in 1994. He was selected CSAC Softball Coach of the Year in 1990 and 1991 for leading Mitchell to the conference championship in both seasons. He coached the Post men's basketball team to a fourth-place finish in the CACC in his only season, 1996-97.
Mara is a member of four halls of fame for his basketball accomplishments. He was inducted into the Mitchell College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998, the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003, the NJCAA Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008, and the Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019. He was featured in the March 7, 1994, issue of Sports Illustrated magazine and in the book Basketball for Dummies by Digger Phelps. Mara spent 16 years as a director of the highly-successful Fundamental Basketball Camp at Mitchell College, and served as a coach for the Irish Basketball Association (now Basketball Ireland) in Dungarvan, Ireland, from 1994-2001.
Mara led the Post University Athletics Department for 11 years, from 1995-2006, during which he helped move the Eagles from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics to full membership status in NCAA Division II. Mara began as Director of Athletics and was promoted to Associate Vice President in 2002. During his tenure at Post he was a three-time CACC Athletics Administrator of the Year (1997-98, 2000-01, and 2005-06) and was named NAIA Region X Administrator of the Year in 2001.
While at Post, Mara served as the Vice President of the CACC Directors Council from 1998 to 2004 and chaired the conference's Ethics and Membership Committees until his appointment as Commissioner. During that time, he was heavily involved with the CACC's move to the NCAA. Mara and Caldwell University's Mark Corino served as the conference's representatives to the NCAA and the Division II Collegiate Commissioner's Association as the league progresed through the provisional conference process. The CACC was elected to active NCAA membership in July 2004.
Mara was the CACC's first representative to the prestigious NCAA Division II Management Council (2004-09), beginning many years of NCAA committee work. He has since chaired five NCAA commitees -- Division II Convention Planning Committee, Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct Committee (association-wide), Division II Membership Committee, Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee, and the Division II Men's Lacrosse Committee. He was also a member of the Division II Identity Subcommittee. He served as a member of the Division II Infractions Penalties Subcommittee as well as the NCAA Life and Work Balance association-wide group.
Mara dedicated eight years as a board member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference, From 2008-10, he was the President of the ECAC, following two years as its Vice President. In 2007, he chaired the ECAC Commissioner Search Committee, and later chaired the ECAC Strategic Planning, League and Affiliates, and Nominating Committees.
Mara was on the Executive Board of the D2CCA for three years and served as its President in 2021-22. He has been on the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Associate Board of Directors since 2019.
In 2016, Mara was recognized by the ECAC as its Conference Commissioner of the Year. He was also selected to the 2016 and 2017 Irish Education 100, an honor which identified Mara as one of the 100 most influential educators of Irish heritage in the United States. The American Red Cross recognized him with the Good Neighbor Award in 2005.
Mara holds degrees from Mitchell College and Roger Williams University as well as a graduate certificate from the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. He is a lifelong resident of Connecticut. His son Danny, 22, is a graduate assistant at Post University.
Last updated 7/14/25