Longtime Basketball Academic Coordinator Bobbie Koplowitz Passes Away

Longtime Central Connecticut men's and women's basketball academic coordinator Bobbie Koplowitz passed away on Wednesday, August 3.  Koplowitz, one of the longest tenured members of the CCSU athletics family, spent nearly 30 years advising the men's and women's basketball programs for the Blue Devils.

A memorial service will be held at Alumni Hall at Central Connecticut State at 2 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 19. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to CCMC oncology unit. 

Bobbie's obituary can be viewed HERE.

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"Bobbie was selflessly devoted professionally and personally to CCSU and Blue Devil Athletics for over three decades," Director of Athletics Paul Schlickmann said.  "The indelible impact she had on the educational development and experience of countless students during her career is priceless.  Bobbie's role at Central was not a job, but a calling and a passion to help young men and women achieve their academic potential while nurturing their personal growth.  Bobbie's passing leaves a great void not only within our athletics family but across campus and within the entire CCSU family.  She will be deeply missed."  

Koplowitz recently completed her 29th consecutive season as the academic coordinator for the basketball programs.  She is also a former Coordinator of Student-Athlete Support Services at the University.

"It's nearly impossible to explain what Bobbie meant to me and so many other players during her time at CCSU," current assistant coach and 2007 graduate Obie Nwadike said.  "She was more than our academic coordinator to all of us.  She was a mom away from home at a time when most of us needed guidance and direction.  She was someone we could go to whenever we needed something, anything.  After I graduated she became a friend to me and so many others.  We lost a great friend."    

In her role with the basketball programs she met daily with the men's and women's teams both on an individual and a group basis, while monitoring study hall and each player's progress throughout the academic year.  Koplowitz conducted study skills workshops to help improve players' study habits and time management. She scheduled speakers from inside and outside the campus community to come and speak about various topics of interest to the student-athletes.  She also traveled with the teams to run study sessions on the road and help the players with any studies they may have missed while traveling for away games.

Her role with both the men's and women's programs went far beyond her work on campus.  She regularly opened her home to student-athletes who did not have a place to go during the Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks, and continued to stay in contact with hundreds of her former students following their graduation from CCSU.

"Our Blue Devil family lost an amazing mentor and friend today," Associate Athletics Director and former Blue Devil student-athlete Amy Strickland noted.  "Bobbie was not only our academic advisor when we stepped on campus back some 24 years ago, but she was a mother figure to her athletes, a counselor, a campus advocate for many groups, all while raising three wonderful daughters. I was fortunate to have been one of her advisees back then and for the past 12 years to have worked side by side with her with our basketball academic programs in a professional role. I'll miss our talks and her advice, she'll always hold a special place." 

Koplowitz graduated from Eastern Connecticut State University and had completed work towards her Master's Degree in athletic counseling at Springfield College. During her career with the Blue Devils she was awarded the ECAC Certificate of Appreciation Award for her dedication to students and the Central athletics program.

"Bobbie's memory will live on, not only in her immediate family, of which she was extremely proud, but in the hundreds of student-athletes she worked with during her 29 years with the university," former Director of Athletics CJ Jones said.  "She had a direct hand in the success of so many student-athletes that it will be impossible to measure how many lives she truly touched.  She will be deeply missed."