Tristan Durgin '07 has been back at his alma mater serving sports information and other administrative roles since 2009, and has filled the position of University of New England Director of Sports Information for the last three years. The Walpole, Maine native, who has a graduate degree from Endicott College, was a UNE golfer for four seasons.

What is your favorite physical location on UNE's Biddeford campus?
Not exactly a location, but the associated view... I think about the sights from the doorway of my first office in the Campus Center. With the help of a completely unrelated office being open, I could see across the CC lawn and Hills Beach Road to Hazard Field and out into Biddeford Pool with Mile Stretch in the distance. Pretty much covered everything I could want, as a generally sentimental place with waterfront sports! So much so, I soon lined things up and took a photo to make it my desktop background. Another spot has since been altered by the Ripich Commons, roughly right under the elevated hallway connecting it to the library. That's where home plate, and my working area, was when we used to have waterfront softball. So there's a theme, I'm partial to a nice view! The way that field was set between buildings and slightly below such a busy, natural intersection of campus felt cozy... even though the barely Spring wind off the water was no joke and I shivered my way through plenty of games there. The scenic backdrop of the Saco River and our little harbor certainly helped keep me going, though! Now that we're mostly across Route 9, I wouldn't mind if someone wants to clear a view down to the water from the Forum or some of our great press boxes...

Why did you get into the profession and what has kept you in it?
My first college golf coach was also the women's basketball coach, and managed sports information by himself. So by being around him and the office basically everyday for the first few months of school, I got to observe a lot on the sports information side, and I was available to help once his other season began. It didn't take long to sense that the job included many tasks that were actually childhood hobbies of mine. Tracking statistics, like I had been doing while competing in everything growing up. Game recaps, for a kid who practiced on televised or personal competition, and literally saved the daily newspaper sport pages for most of the '90s. Compiling records, and historical archives to organize. Yes, yes, and yes please! It just seemed like a perfect fit for me. Even though it sometimes leaves me exhausted now, the fact remains that the adrenaline that I used to experience as an athlete still presents itself almost daily on the sideline as a storyteller and entertainer of sorts. Work regularly involves immersing myself in what I believe is one of the purest forms of competitive sports. And, of late, I maybe get to share in some of the emotions of the student-athletes, alongside student workers, which is pretty cool. It's hard to imagine doing anything else.

What factor(s) made you most want to work at UNE? What do you enjoy most about UNE?
Largely covered by previous answers, I think. As a former student-athlete, UNE is a special place to me for a lot of reasons. I'm in a profession that's very meaningful to me, I regularly interact with quality students and colleagues who I feel share many of my own values and passions, and I get to do it on the Maine coast. It's a no-brainer.

Who has been a mentor(s) related to the profession?
Two UNE legends, for sure... our own Curt Smyth, and the retired department chair of my major, Richard LaRue. Curt was that first coach of mine, but he also gave me tons of opportunities as a student to learn about his administrative tasks and even attempt a variety of them -- some as early as the middle of my first year. The access to the department operations was so valuable! He brought me back a couple years after graduation for the full-on version, and continued to lead me deeper into the sports information community. As for the affectionately known Dr. Rick, he always supported my activities with the in-house athletics program. He took those special interests of mine to heart and repeatedly encouraged me to use the real-life examples as a focus of my studies. He remained a great resource for my career after graduation, and even gave me the reins to teach a couple of sport management courses upon my return to campus (which, in a roundabout way, probably made me better at my day job). I'd also add Bill Gorman at Wentworth; he's been readily available for insight and feedback so often over the years, and is frequently my first stop with a question these days.

What memorable moment(s) at UNE do you recall most often?
I usually have a front-row seat or birds-eye view almost every time our teams compete, so there are plenty of moments. The problem is, since I see practically everything, I can't distinctly remember much of anything because many occasions blend together. Thank goodness for some video! Now, I don't need a replay to recall the men's basketball championship victory in 2009, when the Campus Center was overflowing and so loud that I basically lost my voice trying to communicate with the student working next to me. Or the opening goal scored in the men's ice hockey CCC final in 2018, and the view of the crowd from between the benches, which immediately became a sea of blue pom poms with a deafening noise. Certainly, a lot of memories occur on campus, when the potential magnitude of the result is the greatest and the home atmosphere is electric. I've physically witnessed 13.01 conference championship wins and the ensuing celebrations. The .01 accounts for hustling from another completed game to the Big Blue Turf just as a penalty stroke was awarded in double overtime of the 2014 field hockey title match, when things went silent until the deciding goal sparked an echoing 'UNE' chant. I sadly also remember some of my own embarrassing moments, conveniently directed towards visiting teams. Like when the best player on the opposing side scored and I felt so confident that I didn't even need to glance at the name before announcing, and proceeded to blank on the last name for maybe seven seconds after saying the first (in the panic, I also ducked under the table in the press box while leaving the mic on). Or when I was enjoying a wild celebration for a truly beautiful soccer goal and forgot to stop the scoreboard clock for 10 seconds, which prompted the opposing coach to lose their mind (while being drowned out by the music) and sprint up the sideline to see that it was fixed. Thanks, video, for that last one!

What activity(s) do you like to do away from campus that helps balance your life?
There isn't really a time of year, even in New England, that I wouldn't go golfing if the weather is tolerable. I started playing when I was 5. I appreciate the mental challenge of sustaining focus from start-to-finish and tending to all the little details, which may sound crazy and not relaxing. But it actually is, and provides a sufficient distraction from a similar office life. Maybe it also has something to do with the scenery!
 

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Catch up on previous spotlights:
Ed Silva, men's basketball
Danielle Collins, field hockey
Curt Smyth, associate director of athletics
Ashley Potvin-Fulford, women's rugby
Kasey Keenan '02, men's golf
Lyndie Kelley '11, strength & conditioning
David Venditti, women's ice hockey
Carly Gettler, women's soccer