On Sunday, the University of New Haven announced the formation and inaugural recipient of the Frank Vieira Endowed Baseball Scholarship Fund, which honors the famed coach who founded the baseball team in 1962.
“It is a great feeling, it is something that will live on for a long time,” Vieira said. “It is really something. I didn’t expect today to be this big, not to this extent, but I am loving every minute of it. I am just so grateful that this is happening.”Vieira, 90, was joined by alumni, family, and friends, along with the 2024 New Haven baseball team, led by current coach Chris Celano, which received its championship rings for winning the Northeast-10 conference this past spring.
The first ring handed out was given to the program’s founder, Vieira.
“As the founder of the program which I obviously hold so closely to my heart, our pledge is to carry on this tradition every single day,” Celano said during his speech. “I hope you are proud of what we have accomplished, and this ring symbolizes that we are going in the direction that we need to go.”
The scholarship was granted to junior infielder Matt McIntire, who led the team with 13 home runs last year while slashing .329/.421/.641 (1.062 OPS).
“This means so much to me, especially with it being in Frank Vieira’s name too,” McIntire said. “It is an incredible honor and scholarship, especially considering what he means to this program.”
The criteria of the scholarship, in the words of Vieira, consists of hustle, be a good teammate, and be a good person.
Vieira coached the New Haven baseball team for 44 years from 1963 to 2006 with a career record of 1,127-324-6. During his time at the helm, New Haven baseball earned 35 regional postseason berths and appeared in the College World Series 17 times, including two years where the Chargers finished as the NCAA National Runners-Up.
Inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2021, Vieira is listed second all-time among Division II coaches in wins and career winning percentage (.776).
“From the championship this past spring to the first game in 1963, it has been an incredible journey,” University of New Haven president Jens Frederiksen said in his speech. “We wanted to do something to honor coach Vieira in a way that connected the past to the future, and we did that by creating this scholarship… we had 90 individuals contribute over $50,000 to make this first award happen.”
Vieira still remains active within the New Haven Athletic Department as Head Coach Emeritus, and serves as a fundraiser and an ambassador for the baseball program.
“(The program’s continued success) is good to see, and the thing is, I am going to keep doing what I can to help continue on,” Vieira said. “This is a great feeling. A hell of a day too.”
“Today was all about celebrating coach Frank Vieira, and I would say we are standing on the shoulders of him,” University of New Haven Athletic Director Devin Crosby. “You look at the success of this 2024 team, the foundation comes from him. I am so thankful for coach Celano and what he has done to really take that torch. We had a whole bunch of people here who wanted to give back in honor of coach V, and it impacts Matt McIntire. I couldn’t think of a more wonderful way to celebrate our success now, going back to standing on the shoulders of coach Vieira.”