Southern Maine Athletics

John Sutyak began his tenure as the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics & Recreation at the University of Southern Maine in May of 2025. In doing so, he became the fourth full-time Director of Athletics at USM since 1955.
 
A native of Scarborough, Maine, Sutyak comes to Southern Maine after serving as the Director of Athletics at three other NCAA Division III institutions, Husson University,  Ferrum College, and his alma mater, Wheaton College (Mass.).

At Husson, Sutyak oversaw a department that won 14 conference championships in his two years at the helm, including 10 NCAA appearances. Among them were regional final appearances by baseball and softball in 2024, and two NCAA appearances each from baseball, men’s basketball, men’s golf and softball.  Football also achieved postseason status, earning a bid to the CNE/NEWMAC Fusion Bowl in 2024.

Overall, 24 Husson student-athletes were named a major award winner in their respective leagues, with 10 student-athletes earning North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Senior Scholar Athlete of the year accolades, 7 coaches being named NAC coach/coaching staff of the year and the 2024 softball coaching staff being named NFCA Region 1 coaching staff of the year.

During his time at Ferrum College, Sutyak helped to grow athletics philanthropy by 550%, oversaw the addition of men's and women's track & field, helped lead a complete renovation of its softball facility, the Vickie Van Kleeck Softball Complex, and saw the establishment of the Black Hat Football Endowment to help support Ferrum's football program. 

At Ferrum, Sutyak worked to develop a five-year plan to help enhance the student-athlete experience, grow internal operations and establish competitive goals for individual athletic programs. Additionally, he played a key role in helping license Ferrum's athletic logos and marks with the Nexus Licensing Group and worked with the office of institutional advancement to develop a corporate sponsorship program. Under his leadership, Ferrum had four NCAA all-Americans and four ODAC Scholar Athletes of the Year.  The Panthers also served as the host institution for the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Wrestling national championship at the Berglund Center in Roanoke, Va.
 
Prior to Ferrum, Sutyak spent 14 years in various roles at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, beginning as assistant sports information director and area coordinator in residential life in 2002.  He would return to Wheaton in 2006 as the assistant director of athletics before being promoted to associate director of athletics, and later, director of athletics in April of 2012. During his time with Wheaton, Sutyak was involved in the development and construction of Wheaton's first artificial surface athletic field, the Diane Nordin '80 Athletic Field, which was a $3.8 million project. 
 
Under his direction, Wheaton qualified for 33 NCAA championships, won 16 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) regular season and conference titles, including baseball advancing to the national championship game in 2012. Three times the women’s track and field program finished in the top 10 nationally and Wheaton won regional championships in softball (2015) and baseball (2012, 2017).  The Lyons produced four individual national champions including two national athlete of the year honorees as well as 91 All-America selections, 26 conference athletes of the year and 14 conference coach of the year recipients, including four regional coach of the year winners. 
 
Prior to his final stint at Wheaton, Sutyak spent time as an assistant baseball coach at Western New England University from 2001-02, where he played a part in the team’s 2001 Great Northeast Atlantic Conference (GNAC) championship and its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2001. He also spent three years at Yale University working in varsity sport operations and athletic facilities. 

Sutyak currently serves the NCAA as chair of Division III nominating committee and was a member of the NCAA Softball Committee from 2009-2012. He served the NEWMAC on its executive committee for six years, including two years as the conference President (2015-2017), making him the only NEWMAC president that was also a former student-athlete in the league. 

Sutyak currently holds positions as a member of the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators (NADIIIAA) Board of Directors, is a member of the Maine Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors and serves his alma mater, Wheaton College, as a member of its Hall of Fame committee and as a member of the Alumni Board of Directors. 

Sutyak received his Bachelor of Arts in history from Wheaton College in May 2000 and earned a Master of Education in athletic administration from Springfield College in 2002. A 1996 Scarborough High School graduate, he was a two-sport athlete (baseball and basketball) and a finalist for the 1996 Maine Mr. Baseball Award (now known as the Dr. John Winkin Award). As a four-year baseball player for Wheaton College, he was a member of the college’s first varsity baseball team in 1997, the program’s first two NEWMAC championship teams in 1999 and 2000, and a part of its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2000. He also tied the NCAA record for home runs in one inning when he hit two against the University of Southern Maine in 1998.

Sutyak is married to Carmen Garcia Sutyak, and they currently reside in Gorham, Maine with their daughter, Sydney.