News

CAPE COD, Mass. - Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Commissioner Rudy Keeling announced today that William P. Sapelli will be honored with the George L. Shiebler Award at the 2008 ECAC Honors Dinner on Sunday, September 28 at the Crowne Plaza in Albany, N.Y.

The George L. Shiebler Award is presented annually to an ECAC official who has demonstrated dedication to his avocational activities. The award is named after George L. Shiebler, former ECAC commissioner, in honor of his leadership over the many years he was associated with Eastern collegiate athletics.

Sapelli has been involved in all levels and capacities of ice hockey in New England since he first stepped on the ice to officiate in 1979. In 1981, Sapelli was named President of the National Ice Hockey Officials Association (NIHOA), a position he held until 1987. From 1987 he has held the positions of referee in chief and prep school division assigner for the Western Massachusetts chapter of NIHOA.  From 1988-2004, Sapelli held the title of commissioner of officials for the Pioneer Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference (PVIAC).  After serving as Western Massachusetts assistant tournament director for eleven years the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) promoted him to the position of Western Massachusetts tournament director in 2002, a position he still holds.

Sapelli stepped into the college ranks in 1985 as an on-ice official for the ECAC. Since 1985, Sapelli has worked in numerous college games and league championship in Divisions I, II and III for both men and women. In 2000 Sapelli was promoted to his current role with the ECAC as coordinator of officials for the ECAC Northeast League. As the coordinator of officials the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has called upon his services as a site director for its Division III women's tournaments.

In 1999, Sapelli won the Matthew J. Ryan, Jr. Award for his outstanding dedication and contribution to Western Massachusetts high school ice hockey. In 2008, he was awarded with the Gold Stripes Award, an honor presented by the Springfield Falcons (American Hockey League) to an on-ice official whose work within Western Massachusetts has selflessly demonstrated the essential characteristics of dedication, fair play, positive attitude, and communication skills.

Away from the rink, Sapelli has worked as an educator in the Agawam Public Schools system since 1978, and is currently the assistant superintendent of schools for curriculum and instruction. He received a bachelor of science degree in business and economics from Saint Anselm College, a master of education degree from American International College, and a certificate of advanced graduate studies in educational administration from Westfield State College.

About the ECAC^®
The ECAC is the nation's largest athletic and the only multi-divisional conference in the country with 321 Divisions I, II, and III colleges and universities.  The ECAC stretches from Maine to North Carolina and westerly to Illinois. Established in 1938, the ECAC, a non-profit service organization, sponsors more than 100 championships in 37 men's and women's sports and assigns more than 4,400 officials in 12 sports.  The ECAC also administers eight affiliate sports organizations and six playing leagues, and through the public relations arm of the conference, more than 2,500 student-athletes in 23 sports are recognized annually.  Finally, the ECAC serves as the primary conference for select members in the sports of men's and women's ice hockey and men's lacrosse.