In early August, Marist College made the announcement that Harrison Baker, a 2014 graduate of the school would be named the new Associate Athletic Director of External Affairs. Tim Murray, Marist Director of Athletics, made the announcement of Baker’s appointment to this position official.
“Harrison is an extremely talented athletic administrator, and I am very pleased to have him return to Marist,” Murray released in a statement. “His previous work at Marist and his time at Tulane will be quite helpful as he transitions to being a critical member of my executive team. The entire department is excited to welcome back Harrison, Amy, and his entire family to Marist.”
In his own remarks Baker said, “My family and I couldn’t be more excited to come back home, and to a place, we care so deeply about,” Baker said. “I’m humbled and honored to return to Marist and thank Tim Murray for extending me the opportunity to rejoin this outstanding team.”
Instead maybe: Baker is high up on the totem pole, as he explained he could be classified as the second in command to the athletic director, Murray. He handles external operations along the lines of marketing, branding, communications, and sponsorships. In addition to these responsibilities, he is the chief diversity officer for the athletic department.
Baker described his responsibilities as associate athletic director at Marist and what it can pertain to in the day-to-day workplace.
“That means I’m pretty high up in the chain, probably, I guess you’d classify me as second in command to our athletic director,” Baker explained. “I handle all of our external operations. And as well, I’m also the chief diversity officer for our athletic department. So all the external operations deal with kind of our marketing, branding, communications, anything you see on the exterior, including sponsorships, and who we do partnerships with, kind of come through my office and my desk.”
Before coming back to Marist, Baker worked at Tulane University for over two and a half years and felt content with the job that he had. He worked as the Associate Director of Graphic Design and Digital Strategy. Baker was made aware of the job opening at Marist by his predecessor Andy Alongi, who was going to be taking over a job on the marketing team at Marist. When Alongi officially took the position, Murray contacted Baker offering him an interview for the job, and he quickly was able to earn the position. At that point, it was a no-brainer for Baker to come back to work for the school where he graduated from.
Baker is excited about the opportunity to work with people he has in the past while also developing skills as a leader and trying something new.
“The opportunity to lead, the opportunity to work with people that I’ve worked with before and care about and care about their growth was just huge,” said the 33-year-old. “For me, it was just exciting in that sense because I’m getting to do something new. I’m getting to learn how to be a leader.”
Baker credits his tenure at Tulane for preparing him for his current position. “It definitely just opened my eyes to a bigger atmosphere and a bigger department. There were a lot more people there. A whole marketing department, a whole marketing team. And, you know, as it should be that they’re a group of five school, with aspirations to be along with the power five schools. I learned a lot there as far as relationships go.”
It’s a result of many things falling into place at the right time, adapting to situations, and always getting the most out of everything you do. Baker loves the togetherness at Marist, along with the chance to work and build relationships with people. As it’s a smaller school than Tulane, the sense of community is stronger at Marist, which Baker is grateful for.
Marist is definitely in good hands with the alumnus as the Associate Athletic Director of External Affairs. It is clear that Baker is hoping to leave an indelible mark on his time at Marist, as that is abundantly clear when hearing his passion, devotion, and commitment to the school. Even though he has moved around quite a bit during his young career, Baker seems committed to helping strengthen the future of Marist Athletics for the long run.
Edited by Bridget Reilly & Dave Connelly
Feature Image Credited to Marist Athletics