Bristol's Brian Fernandes named Director of Athletics

Posted: Apr 19, 2024

Brian Fernandes has been named the Director of Athletics and Recreation at Bristol Community College. Fernandes has been with Bristol since 2014 as an assistant coach, and Head men's basketball coach since 2020. Bristol Community College athletics currently offers Women's Volleyball, Men's & Women's Soccer, Men's & Women's Cross-Country and Men & Women's Basketball. The Bayhawks compete in the North East's Region XXI of the NJCAA.

Fernandes stated, "I would like to thank the leadership team at Bristol Community College for their confidence in me to lead the department. I am ready for this opportunity to build on the tradition and success of the programs by elevating our student-athletes". Fernandes plans to include a strong focus on student success and athletic recruitment. Fernandes is responsible for maintaining student-athlete academic guidelines, eligibility compliance and ethics standards.

Brian Fernandes received both his Bachelor of Science degree in 2006 and Master Business Administration degree in 2020 from Johnson & Wales University. Fernandes has a wide range of experience in Higher Education from recruitment, coaching, and partnerships. Fernandes past experience was working at Johnson & Wales University in admissions and then education partnerships. In 2018, JWU reached an agreement with the Boston Bruins to become their official education partner. Fernandes started his career working in ticket sales for the Boston Celtics in 2007.

Fernandes started at Bristol Community College as an assistant Men's Basketball Coach in 2014. The Bayhawks posted a 104-30 overall record during that period. Coach Fernandes was part of the Bayhawks winning two Massachusetts state championships in 2018 and 2019 including its first regular season first place in Region XXI. He also helped recruit and coach three All-Americans during his time as the assistant men's basketball coach.

Fernandes became the Head Men's Basketball Coach before the 2019-2020 season. Coach Fernandes has a 54-45 overall record and had seven student-athletes earn All-Region honors in his tenure. In the 2021-2022 season, Fernandes led Bristol to a 10-1 record start. On January 24, 2022 the Bayhawks were ranked 15th in the Country. Bristol has finished with a top 4 seed twice in Region XXI, hosting two home playoff games during his four seasons at the helm.

Fernandes was an All-Conference basketball player at Bishop Connolly High School where he graduated in 2002. He attended Johnson & Wales University, where he scored over 1,000 points including 140 three-point makes. Coach Fernandes helped the Wildcats win their first conference championship, as well as earn their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2004. He was also a two-year Captain and named to the All-Conference team in 2006.

Go Bayhawks!