SUNY Cortland Athletics

After playing an integral role on Cortland cross country squads that were among the best in New York State, Dennis Fries enjoyed a respected and highly successful career as an athletic administrator, coach and teacher for nearly 40 years in the West Irondequoit (N.Y.) School District.
 
Fries was the top runner on the freshman cross country team in 1963, and was part of squad that went 7-3 in dual meets as a sophomore. As a junior, Fries placed in the top five of the SUNY cross country championships and 18th at nationals. The Red Dragons were a perfect 8-0 in duals, with Fries joining Robert Lalley '66 and Bob Fitts '67, both also C-Club Hall of Fame members, in the top three places at every meet. As a senior, Fries finished in the top 10 of the conference and in the top 50 at nationals. In addition to cross country, Fries ran in half-mile, mile and two-mile races on the track team for four seasons. He was also a four-year member of the Gamma Tau Sigma fraternity, where he served as vice president as a senior.
 
Fries earned a bachelor's degree in education from Cortland in 1967 and, later, two master's degrees from SUNY Brockport. He joined West Irondequoit in 1967 and served as assistant athletic director from 1969-84 and director of physical education and athletics from 1984 until his retirement in 2006.
 
A native of Arcade, N.Y., Fries was named New York State Director of Physical Education of the Year in 1998, was Section 5 president from 2000-02, and served on the board of directors of the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) from 2002-06. He was NIAAA president in 2005. In 2007, he received the Ellis H. Champlin Award, the highest honor bestowed in New York State for administration in physical education, and in 2012 was honored with the NIAAA Award of Merit, the organization's highest award. He's also a 2015 New York State Athletic Administrators and Section 5 Football Hall of Fame honoree. Fries continues to serve New York State athletics as the executive director of the 23-school Monroe County Public School Athletic Conference and as the New York State Athletic Administrators Association's (NYSAAA) liaison to the NIAAA.

UPDATE (December 2016): Dennis was inducted into the National Interscholastic Athletic Administration Association's Hall of Fame.