Schenectady, N.Y. (June 25, 2003) – Union College Director of Athletics Val Belmonte
announced on Wednesday the departure of Kevin Sneddon as head hockey coach at Union College.
Sneddon, who has been on the coaching staff at Union for the past 10 years, serving the
last five as the team's head coach, will be introduced as the new head hockey
coach at the University of Vermont during a press conference in Burlington on Wednesday afternoon.
“This is a wonderful
and challenging career move for Kevin,” said Belmonte, “an opportunity that he
has earned and worked hard to obtain.”
Reflecting on Kevin's
career at Union Belmonte commented, “Kevin's successes at Union should be measured not only by his
team's improvement on the ice, but also by their outstanding achievements in
the classroom and in the community. A
wonderful representative of the College throughout his career, Kevin has been a
revered and respected member of Union Athletics and he will be greatly missed.”
“Kevin leaves with
the best wishes of all of us in the Union College community. We will continue to follow the progress of
his bright and promising career, and all of us look forward to November 15 of
this season when Kevin will return to Achilles Rink as the head coach of the
Catamounts.”
In Sneddon's tenure
as the head coach at Union, the Dutchmen posted an overall record of 50-99-18. The Dutchmen qualified for ECAC post-season
play three times under Sneddon and earned home ice in 2002-03 playoffs for the
first time in school history. Last
season the Dutchmen finished in sixth place in the ECAC standings, their
highest finish since 1996-97, and the highest under Sneddon's leadership. Sneddon
has coached two ECAC All-Rookie team members and 14 of his players have earned
ECAC All-Academic Team honors, eight earning the honor multiple times. With his
team participating in several community service projects, Sneddon's Dutchmen
have raised thousands of dollars for various local charities, and Jeff Wilson, Union's captain in 2001-02, was the
national runner-up for the Hockey Humanitarian Award.
“Kevin's move to UVM
speaks well of the state of our program at Union College,” said Belmonte. “We have established a solid foundation of
success and we are ready to take the program to the next level of competitive
excellence.”
“With the ongoing
renovations at Achilles Rink, a strong recruiting class and an opportunity to
bring in a high-level coach, we are extremely excited by the future of men's
ice hockey at Union College.”
Belmonte confirmed
that a national search to replace Sneddon will begin immediately.
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