Michael L. Covone has served with the Buccaneer Athletic Department since it’s inception in 1984, first as the head women’s soccer coach and later as an administrator.

One of the most respected leaders in college athletics, he currently serves on the NCAA Management Council as vice-chair/ chair of the Championship Committee. He also serves on the NCAA Division II Identity committee, the NCAA Community Advisory Task Force, and recently chaired the SSC Strategic Planning Committee, the NCAA South Regional Basketball Committee, and the SSC Basketball Tournament Committee. Covone served on the Miami Shores Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the NCAA Sportsmanship & Ethical Conduct Committee, the NCAA Championship/ Eligibility Project committee, the NCAA Women’s Soccer Committee, and chaired the Intercollegiate Soccer Association of America (ISAA) National Committee. In addition, Covone was the United States Olympic Development South Regional Coach from 1985 to 1991, and was on the USYSA National Staff from 1984 to 1993.

Covone guided the women’s soccer program to a 140-32-9 record in 11 seasons from 1984-94. The Bucs advanced to the NCAA Tournament seven times; had 11 consecutive winning seasons, including a berth in the 1987 NCAA Division I tournament. Barry played in the first six NCAA Division II finals, winning three titles in 1989, 1992 and 1993. The program produced 15 NSCAA All-Americans, two NCAA National “Players of the Year”, and nine scholar All-Americans during his tenure.

Covone has been honored for his work, winning the 2004-2005 General SportsTurf Systems "Athletic Director of the Year" for the Southeast Region. In addition, Covone was the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) National “Coach of the Year” in 1989 and 1991, and regional coach of the year in 1988, 1992 and 1993. In 1997 he was inducted into the Sunshine State Conference “Hall of Fame” for his work as a pioneer of women’s soccer and as an administrator.

Along with guiding the women’s soccer program to the summit of Division II, Covone also served as associate director of athletics from 1988-96 and executive associate director of athletics at Barry University from 1996-1998. In 1998, he became the third director of athletics in Barry history. As director, he has overseen the Buccaneers’ rise to national prominence as a department. The Bucs finished the 1997-98 athletic year ranked third overall in the prestigious Sears Director’s Cup competition and was the highest-ranked private institution in the country. Since then, the Bucs have finished as one of the top programs every year, and were again the top private institution in the country in 2003-2004.

From 1984 to 1998, Barry produced 53 All-Americans and 40 Scholar All-Americans. Since 1998 when Covone became Director of Athletics, there have been 99 All-Americans and 89 Scholar All-Americans, four NCAA “Women of the Year” top 10 finalists, four Florida NCAA “Women of the Year” award winners, an NCAA Walter Byers Scholarship recipient, and two NCAA Post-graduate scholarship recipients. Barry University also won the 2001 and 2004 NCAA National Championship in the sport of Volleyball. In addition, Barry has captured 23 Sunshine State Conference titles and three Sunshine State Conference Women’s Mayor’s Cup trophies.

He has been a fixture in South Florida sports for many years. He serves on the prestigious Orange Bowl Committee and is Vice Chair of the Orange Bowl’s Youth Football League (YFL), and chair of the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic. He is also a member of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Sports Council and was involved in the South Florida Olympic Soccer Committee and the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce “Hall of Champions” Committee. He helped bring the Super Bowl to Miami in 1999 as a member of the NFL Super Bowl Host Committee.

A native of Hialeah, Florida, Covone picked up two All-America awards while attending Miami-Dade North Community College and was selected as an alternate for the United States Olympic Team in 1980. After turning professional, he spent two years with the St. Louis Steamers and Phoenix Inferno of the Major Indoor Soccer League. He served one year as the men’s assistant coach at Miami-Dade South and won the NJCAA National Championship before coming to Barry to start the Buccaneer program in 1984. Covone received his Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from Barry University.

While accomplishing many things within the community, he is also recognized for the continued development of the Barry University Athletic program. Since 1998, the athletic program has grown and continues to excel in academics and athletics. Listed below are several program highlights and additions since 1998:

• Continued the academic integrity of the athletic program – Academically, 2005-2006 was again one of the best years in the history of Barry University’s athletic program.
• Cum GPA’s of student-athletes have increased dramatically from a low of 29% in Spring ’92 to previous highs of 61.3% in Spring ’97, and 60.7% in Fall ’98. Fall 2005 saw 56.7% of student-athletes with cum GPA’s at 3.00 or higher, while Spring 2006, 62.3% of all student-athletes had CUM GPA’s at 3.0 or higher (All-time high for Barry University)
• Term GPA’s of student-athletes have also seen tremendous increases from a low of 39.2% in Fall ’92 to highs of 63.3% in Spring ’97 and 63.4% in Fall ’98. 25 of the last 26 semesters more than 50% of student-athletes earned term GPA’s > 3.0. In fall 2005, 62.8% of all student-athletes (2nd highest ever in Barry history) had term GPA’s of 3.0 or better, and 61.2% (fourth highest ever in Barry history) of all student-athletes had spring, 2006 term GPA’s above 3.0.
• The number of Barry teams with average term/ Cum GPA’s > 3.0 has ranged from a low of 1/12 in Fall ’91 to a high of 10/12 (83.3%) in Fall ’98. There were 9/12 teams in Fall ’05 with average CUM GPA’s at or above 3.0, and 8/12 teams had CUM GPA’s at or above 3.0 in the Spring of 2006.
• The 1998-99 FRESHMAN-COHORT GRADUATION RATE shows all Barry University students at 39%, while student-athletes were at 61%. The Four-Class Average for all students was at 45%, while student-athletes were at 68%. This marks the second consecutive year Barry has ranked #1 in the SSC in the four-class average category.
• 19 of the last 20 semesters (Fall ’96 – Spring ’06) showed the average cum GPA’s of all Barry teams at 3.00 or higher.
• Eight of 12 teams qualified for NCAA Post-season competition.
• Highest Graduation Rate of student-athletes in the Sunshine State Conference
• Launched new “Athletic Web” site – GoBarryBucs.com
• Launched electronic news letter -- BUC-E-NEWS
• Launched Internet Broadcast of Athletic events with Live Stats
• Added lights to four athletic fields (soccer, baseball, softball, campus recreation)
• Formalized corporate sponsorship agreements with Coca-Cola, Nike, Papa Johns, Boston Market, and other local establishments
• Increased total gifts to the department and has enjoyed increased media coverage every year
• Hosted NCAA Men’s & Women’s Soccer National Championships in 1999 & 2000 (only institution to host both championships at the same time, at the same site) and produce live web broadcast of all games
• Added the NCAA Champs/ Life Skills program
• Added the sport of Women’s Golf (12th sport overall)
• Received a “Perfect Score” from the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools (SACS) Accreditation visiting committee – No recommendations or suggestions.
• Enhancement of outdoor facilities with new bleachers on the softball & baseball fields