BRIAN CHAPMAN NAMED ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

Saint John Vianney High School is excited to announce that it has hired Brian Chapman as its new Athletic Director. Chapman, who served as the Head Baseball Coach at Millburn High School for 14 years and transformed the program into an annual state contender, retired in June with 292 victories, two Group 4 state championships, and was named the National Coach of the Year in 2015. As the Athletic Director of Saint John Vianney High School, Chapman will lead a department of 27 interscholastic sports, which includes over 100 coaches and upward of 700 student-athletes per year.

Outside of baseball, Chapman has been a special education teacher for the past 25 years, most recently leading a specialized program for 12 students and 5 staff at Millburn High School. Chapman’s patience, care, and listening skills have been a great asset to his success. Before his time at Millburn High School, Chapman was an Assistant Baseball Coach and the Head Girls’ Basketball Coach at Cranford High School. In addition to his educational experience, Chapman holds a marketing degree that will prove just as beneficial at SJV as it was during his time at Millburn, where he successfully raised millions of dollars to support the baseball program.

In his new role, Chapman will concentrate on mentoring young coaches through the creation of coaching leadership programs and guiding SJV Athletics with integrity to foster the growth of the school’s student-athletes. Chapman has a history of caring deeply about his student-athletes and developing a path for their success, which will be a pillar of the athletic program under his leadership, perpetuating his reputation for teaching student-athletes to win the right way.   

“It is a privilege and honor to be named the Athletic Director at SJV,” Chapman said. “As a proud product of Catholic education for 12 years, I look forward to leading the Athletic Department at SJV and representing our mission and our faith proudly. SJV Athletics has a proud history of success, and I look forward to helping to sustain and grow that success through our coaching staff and leadership. I look forward to working with all of the members of our SJV community to further our mission through athletics.”

Reflecting on his own experiences, Chapman shared, “I learned some of life's greatest lessons from the teachers and coaches that have surrounded me in my career. I hope to honor all of them by putting their lessons to work as the Athletic Director of Saint John Vianney.”

School President Steven DiMezza said, “SJV is fortunate to have Brian Chapman as our new Athletic Director. Throughout his career, Brian has proven himself to be dedicated to student-athletes while effectively leading teams to success. His experiences as a teacher and a coach have given him the opportunity to truly connect with student-athletes, and he will be an excellent addition to our administrative team.”

SJV Interim Athletic Director Russell Gartz said, “Brian is a dedicated educator who is totally committed to his faith, SJV’s mission, integrity, and leadership. I am extremely happy to have Brian on our administrative team as we navigate the environment of high school sports. We have complete confidence that he will lead our athletic programs to improved success.”