PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Little East Conference (LEC) Commissioner Pamela S. Samuelson, PhD announced she will retire from the role in July 2024, concluding a distinguished career in intercollegiate athletics administration that spanned four decades.
Samuelson stated, “I am grateful for the opportunity that I was given five years ago to serve as the LEC Commissioner. The support from the Presidents Council has been outstanding, and I am so fortunate to have worked alongside such a talented group of athletic administrators that are committed to providing a quality experience for the student-athletes. While I look forward to this next phase of my life, I will miss both the competition and the collegiality in the LEC.”
"The LEC has been in excellent hands throughout Commissioner Samuelson’s term of office,” said Plymouth State University President Donald Birx, Chair of the conference’s Presidents Council. “Her leadership during a tumultuous period benefited all of our member institutions, including most importantly the student-athletes who contribute so much to our campuses and communities. We wish Pam all the best in her future endeavors.”
Samuelson was named the eighth Commissioner of the LEC in July 2019, and has since led the conference through a tremendous period of growth and success both on and off the field of play, in addition to guiding the league through the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw the LEC lead the way in the return of competition, providing a blueprint for the rest of the nation to follow.
The return to competition included the first of two championship expansion phases for the LEC under Samuelson’ leadership, with men’s golf and men’s swimming & diving becoming the league’s 20th and 21st championship sports. The Little East conducted its first-ever men’s golf championship in October 2021 before expanding its swimming & diving championship from a one-day event comprised of eight women’s programs to a four-day event featuring 10 women’s programs and five men’s programs in February 2022. The expansion of swimming & diving included the addition of three affiliate members - Bridgewater State University, University of New England and Western New England University.
The LEC’s second phase of sport expansion began in the summer of 2023, with planning well underway to launch men’s and women’s ice hockey as Little East championships for the 2025-26 academic year, increasing the LEC’s championship offerings to 23 and making the league the second-largest in terms of championship offerings in New England. This latest growth period has seen the LEC admit three new affiliate members in Babson College, New England College and Norwich University, helping establish the Little East as one of the premiere ice hockey conferences in the nation for its inaugural season.
Samuelson has implemented a number of enhancements to the LEC’s operations, including those that enhanced the student-athlete experience and voice, and created new revenue opportunities for the conference. The LEC’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) has transformed into a student-driven executive committee, weighing in on Conference and national issues and policy initiatives that have a direct impact on student athletes. LEC Undivided was established in 2022-23 to provide an outlet and voice for student-athletes from underrepresented groups.
Samuelson was appointed LEC Commissioner after spending 16 years as director of athletics at NCAA Division III Susquehanna University, where she led a 23-sport varsity athletics program in addition to overseeing club sport, intramural and recreation programs. Under her leadership, Susquehanna was a founding member of the Landmark Conference in 2007 and underwent a major rebranding initiative that resulted in a new nickname and brand identity being adopted in 2016. She served as Landmark Conference Chairperson from 2012-14, and saw Susquehanna capture four Landmark President's Trophy titles as the conference's top athletics program. Off the field, she directed the creation of the department's mission and vision statements, the SU Intern program, which led to dramatic increases in applications and enrollment of student-athletes, and SU FACT (Female Athlete Connection Team), a program that connects female alumnae with current student-athletes.
Samuelson started her career in athletics administration at Beloit College (Wisconsin) in 1987, where she spent her final eight years as the Coordinator of Women's Athletics. She then served as director of athletics at Curry College for three years before transitioning to assistant director of athletics at LEC-member institution UMass Boston in 1998, allowing her to pursue her doctoral degree before taking the reins at Susquehanna.
Samuelson completed her Bachelor of Science in business administration and physical education at Nebraska Wesleyan University in 1981, and earned her master's degree in physical education administration from Chadron State College in 1985. Samuelson went on to earn her doctorate in higher education administration from Boston College in December 2003, and more recently completed a certificate program through Harvard University's Graduate School of Education's Institute for Leadership and Management in Education in 2017. A former standout student-athlete on the basketball and volleyball courts, Samuelson is a member of both the Nebraska Wesleyan Hall of Fame and Lincoln (Neb.) Northeast High School Hall of Fame.
A national search to identify the next Commissioner of the Little East Conference will commence in the coming days.
About the Little East Conference
The Little East Conference (LEC) was formed in 1986 when six public institutions gathered to create a single sport athletic conference, and has expanded into what is now New England’s premier athletic conference for public institutions in NCAA Division III. The LEC will soon feature 23 championship sports, sponsoring quality competition for our student-athletes while following the Division III mission of “passion, responsibility, sportsmanship and citizenship.”
The Little East consists of nine primary institutions that encompass all six New England states – Eastern Connecticut State University, Keene State College (N.H.), UMass Boston, UMass Dartmouth, Plymouth State University (N.H.), Rhode Island College, University of Southern Maine, Vermont State University Castleton, and Western Connecticut State University.