WALTHAM, Mass. -- Former Bentley University men's basketball coach Frank Sullivan will be amongst the honorees when the New England Basketball Hall of Fame holds its 2009 Induction Ceremonies at Mohegan Sun Friday evening.
Sullivan, who'll be enshrined in the Division II Men's Coach Division, headed the Bentley program from 1984-91. After leaving Bentley, Sullivan spent 16 years as the head coach at Harvard University. Currently, he is the Associate Commissioner for the America East Conference.
Sullivan's tenure at Bentley featured a pair of 25-6 seasons, in 1984-85 and 1988-89, with both of those teams capturing Northeast-10 Conference regular season championships and earning NCAA Division II tournament berths.
Sullivan was the conference Coach of the Year three times (1985, 1988, 1989) and was honored by the National Association of Basketball Coaches as the Division II District 1 Coach of the Year during each of the two championship seasons.
Also being recognized Friday night will be Bentley's current coach, Jay Lawson, who succeeded Sullivan in 1991 after spending five years as his assistant. Lawson will receive the Division II Men's Coach of the Year award for his efforts last season, when the Falcons finished 26-7 and reached the NCAA Division II Sweet 16 for the third straight year, and fourth time in five years.
The list of honorees also includes Rollie Massimino in the boys high school coach category. Sullivan played for Massimino at Lexington High School and began his collegiate coaching career on Massimino's staff at Villanova University in 1974.
