Mark Benson has served as the University at Albany’s athletic director since Aug. 20, 2014. He provides leadership for a 19-sport department that has won 134 conference championships since moving up to Division I in 1999.
Benson’s tenure has been marked by victories on the fields, academic success of student-athletes and fundraising growth.
Athletics
UAlbany programs have captured 60 conference championships (45 America East, 4 MAAC, 1 CAA) during Benson’s tenure. Since Benson first came to the Capital Region, the Great Danes have claimed seven or more championships in a single year six times. Unparalleled success on the field has led UAlbany to five America East Commissioner’s Cups (2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 17-18, 21-22), an award that annually recognizes the strongest athletic programs in the conference. The 2016-17 season will forever go down as one of the best year’s in UAlbany’s history, as the Great Danes were ranked the 40th strongest department in the entire country after claiming nine conference championships.
Under Benson, the Great Danes captured five America East titles in 2023-24 along with a MAAC title and the school’s first-ever CAA Championship. Softball, men’s lacrosse, men’s indoor track & field, and women’s indoor and outdoor track & field all brought home conference championships in the university’s primary league, with softball and men’s lacrosse earning automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament. Women’s golf picked up the program’s fifth MAAC title all-time while football claimed the school’s first-ever CAA title, making a run all the way to the NCAA FCS Semifinals in a historic season after entering the playoffs as the No. 5 seed in the nation.
UAlbany claimed three America East titles in 2022-23 and saw two teams, field hockey and women’s lacrosse, make appearances in the NCAA Tournament. After defeating Stanford in a shootout in the America East final, the field hockey team upset #4 Michigan in overtime in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament for their first NCAA win since 2014. The women’s lacrosse team later upset #12 Virginia in similar fashion, making a historic comeback to reach the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament for the program’s second Tournament win in its history. Women’s Track & Field continued its streak of conference titles, winning its 14th-straight America East outdoor championship, extending its longest active streak among NCAA Division I programs.
New heights of athletic achievements have been reached with Benson leading the Great Danes, including three NCAA National Semifinal appearances. Field hockey became the first UAlbany program to make it that far in 2014, defeating Wake Forest and No. 2 Maryland in postseason play. Men’s lacrosse became the second program to do so in 2018, collecting postseason wins against Richmond and Denver as the No. 2 seed in the tournament. Football became the third program in UAlbany history to make it to a National Semifinal in 2023, receiving a First Round bye before taking down CAA foe Richmond and No. 4 Idaho in the FCS Playoffs.
Academics
In addition to all of the on-field success UAlbany programs have achieved, the Great Danes have finished as one of the top schools in the America East in the classroom on a yearly basis under Benson. His commitment to academics has transformed the UAlbany landscape, as the collective department has maintained a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 every year since Benson joined in 2014. Countless individuals have received honors for their work in the classroom, with student-athletes being named Academic All-Americas, Academic All-Stars, All-Academic Team selections, and Commissioner’s Honor Roll recipients.
Facilities, Fundraising, and Branding
Benson played a key role in overseeing the redevelopment of Broadview Center, formally SEFCU Arena, which first broke ground in 2022. The $12 million project officially re-opened in the fall of 2023 and now serves as one of the top basketball facilities in the America East. The renovated arena accommodates 3,800 fans for basketball games and boasts improved sight lines and upgraded amenities, including premium seating, upgraded and spacious chairback seating, new and enhanced ADA seating, and new hospitality areas.
The same year, Benson spearheaded a $2.5 million project to renovate the PE Gym, providing a new home for UAlbany’s volleyball team and a practice site for athletics as a whole. The new facility is equipped with new OES LED videoboard displays, new OES LED scoring tables, a new built-in sound system, new bleachers, and a new playing surface – all to provide one of the best game-day experiences for both fans and players throughout the entire America East. The PE Gym renovation is a part of a larger $80 million project that will renovate the entire PE Building as a whole in years to come.
In July of 2019, Benson led UAlbany Athletics into a five-year partnership with Under Armour through BSN SPORTS. The groundbreaking agreement included an opportunity to work with Varsity Brand’s design division, VIP Branding, to develop an updated set of logos for the Great Danes. The new brand, which was launched in July of 2020, has been hailed as a massive success. All UAlbany student-athletes, coaches, and administrators now sport Under Armour gear with the new logo on a daily basis.
In addition, in the naming of Tom & Mary Casey Stadium, Benson helped garner a $10 million gift to support the football stadium and other facilities, expand scholarships for student-athletes, and address additional priorities in athletics. The gift was made by The Bernard and Millie Children’s Foundation on Oct. 9, 2015.
Around the NCAA
Benson has served on a variety of councils since joining the Great Danes, helping push the advancement of the America East and CAA Football. He served on the NCAA Division I Competition Oversight Committee as the representative from the America East. The committee has oversight responsibility of regular season and championships administration in sports other than football and men’s and women’s basketball, including supervision of qualification and/or selection procedures for Division I and National Collegiate Championships, in addition to reviewing recommendations from sports committees and processing other issues related to the administration of those championships.
Benson currently serves on the Division I Football Championship Committee, which consists of representatives from each conference that is eligible for and applies for automatic qualification in the Division I Football Championship. The group is tasked with forming the 24-team playoff bracket in the FCS. He was named to the committee ahead of the 2023 season and will serve until August of 2026.
Benson will also serve as the 2024-25 President of the Division I Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA) after serving as the 1st Vice President the year prior. The purpose of the FCS ADA is to empower its membership in their roles as directors of athletics and is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). The group looks to provide a collective voice for FCS athletics directors, a forum to discuss issues that impact the role of FCS athletics directors, a recognized relationship with other athletics director associations and NCAA leadership groups, and helpful information to the FCS athletics directors including surveys, newsletters and meetings.
Before UAlbany
Prior to UAlbany, Benson was the senior associate athletic director at Old Dominion University. He also served as the assistant vice president for Athletic Development for eight years, and was an adjunct professor in the Sports Management Program. During his time at Old Dominion, Benson was responsible for budget preparation and administration, as well as providing sport supervision for men’s and women’s sailing. During Benson’s tenure at Old Dominion, the Athletic Endowment grew more than $16 million and the Old Dominion Athletic Foundation annual fund grew from $400,000 to $4.1 million. Benson was responsible for soliciting seven $1 million plus gifts to athletics, as well as numerous significant commitments from donors.
Prior to his time at Old Dominion, Benson worked at Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. as an Educational Channel manager. In his role with Coca-Cola, he managed the Educational Channel for the Commonwealth Division, which covers sales centers from eastern Delaware to eastern North Carolina. Benson developed financial and marketing proposals as well as negotiated beverage contracts with colleges and universities within his division.
Conference Championships Under Benson - 60
2014-15 (9)
Field Hockey, Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball, Men’s Indoor Track, Women’s Indoor Track, Men’s Lacrosse, Men’s Outdoor Track, Women’s Outdoor Track, Women’s Golf (MAAC)
2015-16 (8)
Field Hockey, Women’s Soccer, Women’s Basketball, Men’s Indoor Track, Women’s Indoor Track, Men’s Lacrosse, Men’s Outdoor Track, Women’s Outdoor Track
2016-17 (9)
Men’s Soccer, Women’s Soccer, Women’s Basketball, Men’s Indoor Track, Women’s Indoor Track, Men’s Lacrosse, Softball, Men’s Outdoor Track, Women’s Outdoor Track
2017-18 (7)
Men’s Soccer, Men’s Lacrosse, Softball, Women’s Indoor Track, Men’s Outdoor Track, Women’s Outdoor Track, Women’s Golf (MAAC)
2018-19 (8)
Women’s Cross Country, Women’s Soccer, Field Hockey, Men’s Indoor Track, Women’s Indoor Track, Men’s Outdoor Track, Women’s Outdoor Track, Women’s Golf (MAAC)
2019-20 (3)
Volleyball, Men’s Indoor Track, Women’s Indoor Track
2020-21 (2)
Men’s Outdoor Track, Women’s Outdoor Track
2021-22 (4)
Women’s Basketball, Women’s Indoor Track, Men’s Outdoor Track, Women’s Outdoor Track
2022-23 (3)
Field Hockey, Women’s Lacrosse, Women’s Outdoor Track
2023-24 (7)
Football (CAA), Men’s Indoor Track, Women’s Indoor Track, Men’s Lacrosse, Softball, Women’s Outdoor Track, Women’s Golf (MAAC)
America East Commissioner’s Cups Under Benson – 5
2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2021-22
