Caldwell to Retire From IRA

Gary Caldwell, the commissioner of the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA), will retire at the end of the year after serving the oldest rowing organization and collegiate championship in the U.S. for 26 years, the IRA announced.

In 2020, Caldwell described the role of the IRA to Rowing News:

“Because men’s rowing and [men’s and women’s] lightweight rowing are not NCAA sports, the IRA acts as the regulating body, much as the NCAA does for women’s rowing. We oversee the eligibility rules, the operating regulations, an athlete’s ability to transfer between schools. We’re a parallel organization.”

Caldwell became involved with the IRA in the 1990s when he began administering events and eventually was appointed commissioner. When he retired from his coaching position at Tufts in 2016 after 26 years, he remained in the role.

The IRA began with five member schools—the University of Pennsylvania, Syracuse, Cornell, Columbia, and the Naval Academy. But in 2011, the organization restructured under a new constitution and bylaws and is governed now by a board of 51 member schools.

The IRA also announced that Laura Kunkemueller will move from director of officiating to the new position of associate commissioner. Patrick Diggins, regatta director for the IRA and Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Eastern Sprints, will take on additional responsibilities as assistant commissioner for affiliate championships and will oversee the National Invitational Rowing Championship, New England Rowing Championships, and Women’s Sprints regattas.

Howard Meisner, longtime USRowing referee and former Northeast regional coordinator for USRowing’s referee committee, has been appointed director of officiating.

“I get to work with really good people; they are invaluable,” said Caldwell. “This is not a one-man band by any stretch of the imagination.” 

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