Thomas Pincince’s dedication to providing Central Connecticut State University’s student-athletes with quality Division I experience on and off the field of play makes him the right person to lead CCSU’s athletic department.

Pincince hopes that every student-athlete that goes through CCSU leaves knowing that they had the best experience possible and are proud to call themselves Blue Devils.

“Our number one goal is to provide a quality Division I experience for every one of our student-athletes, and that comes on the field, in the classroom, and socially within the community,” Pincince said. “To impact their lives in a way that they leave here knowing they had the best experience they could. Some of that may come with wins, not every team is going to win every single year but provide them the opportunity to be part of a team and a university they could be proud of when they leave here.”

Pincince’s passion and dedication to the well-being of CCSU’s student-athletes have rubbed off on his coaching staff. CCSU’s men’s soccer Interim Head Coach, David Kelly, said that Pincince understands the importance of preparing the student-athletes for life after CCSU.

“Tom understands that it is our job to make sure that we do our utmost to prepare them for the journey after college. He gets that the mission of athletics, in our own small way, is trying to affect change in the world by making a difference in the lives of our student-athletes,” Kelly said. “I think the reason Tom has entrusted me with the men’s soccer program is because we both understand that our overarching responsibility is to safeguard the quality of the experience of the student-athlete.”

CCSU’s women’s soccer Head Coach Mick D’Arcy, who has been at the school for twenty-two seasons, said that he is not surprised that Pincince invests so much in the academic success of CCSU’s student-athletes.

“People define success in college athletics in many ways. Tom’s message has always been clear,” he said. “He wants us to recruit future Blue Devils who are not only great student-athletes but great people too,”

D’Arcy said Pincince is an educator at heart, so it is no surprise that he expects our student-athletes to get the job done in the classroom.

Pincince’s other defining characteristics are his leadership and communication skills, both of which are especially important when leading an athletic department. He leads by example and constantly communicates with the school’s various coaching staff.

“Tom leads by example. We all know how important CCSU is to him. He is a Blue Devil. He wants to win, and he wants to win in the right way,” D’Arcy said. “We see Tom every day. He is in the trenches with us. He knows what is going on, and he is there to help us in any way he can.”

Pincince, a native of Woonsocket, R.I., began his journey at CCSU in 2002 when he joined the university as Assistant Director of Athletics and Sports Information Director. He also held the position of Assistant Director of Athletics for Communications and Media Services.

Before being named CCSU’s official Director of Athletics on Jan. 14, 2022, Pincince served as Interim Director of Athletics for two years. During that time, nine out of sixteen teams had a perfect Academic Progress Rate, eleven of those sixteen teams had a collective team GPA of 3.0 or higher, and five individual student-athletes achieved Northeast Conference Scholar-Athlete honors. The Blue Devils also saw success on the field by winning six-team conference championships and producing nineteen individual conference champions during Pincince’s time as interim athletic director.

He accomplished all that despite taking over as interim athletic director just as the COVID-19 pandemic began. According to Pincince, it was a difficult time for sports on all levels, and that was no different for CCSU.

“It has limited schedules and rosters because sometimes there are teams playing without some of their players. Whether that is a positive case or contact with a positive case. We lost an entire spring season back in 2020,” Pincince said. “I think it has taken its toll, and there has been a lot of testing for our student-athletes. I think that has taken a toll on some teams, and there is some stress that comes with testing the day before a game. They do not know if they are going to be able to play or not, have that opportunity to travel or not.”

Pincince’s vision for the future of CCSU athletics is to put together a leadership group that can sustain a plan that allows student-athletes to have the best experience they can while doing it in a budget-friendly way.

“We are going to put a group together and look at what the future looks like for Central Athletics. How do we stay sustainable and put together a plan to make sure that our student-athletes have the best Division I experience that they can while we are doing it in a budget-conscious way to make sure that we are meeting the needs of our student-athletes and our teams,” Pincince said.