Bates College

Rogan Connell led a Bates alpine skiing program that became a perennial presence at the NCAA Skiing Championships. At the 2010 NCAAs, Bates representatives included Bump Heldman and Ben Manter; Manter earned NCAA All-America honors for placing 10th in the slalom. Bates sent four participants to the 2011 NCAAs, and three more in 2012. In 2013, Connell was named EISA Alpine Co-Coach of the Year by the Eastern Intercollegiate Skiing Association. Connell’s leadership also helped bring the 2009 NCAA Skiing Championships to Bates.

Connell was named the alpine skiing coach at Bates in 2001. Prior to coming to Bates, he was director of skiing at St. Michael’s College, leading the Knights to a top-20 finish at the NCAA Skiing Championships. He started his coaching career as an assistant coach at Ford Sayre Academy in Hanover, N.H.

A two-time letter winner at the University of New Hampshire, Connell helped the Wildcats to top-10 finishes at the 1992 and 1993 NCAA Championships.

“Student-athletes on the ski team learn how to balance the rigors of an intense academic and athletic schedule,” Connell says. “They learn to take responsibility for their actions and to ultimately be responsible for their performance both academically and athletically.”