Bio

The College’s all time leading scorer, with 2455 career points, Galaris participated in both varsity basketball (four seasons) and varsity tennis (two seasons) while at Salem State College. Named an All American Honorable Mention three times in basketball, he captained the hoopsters in his senior year to a 24 and 0 regular season record, and overall record of 27 and 1. During his four years as a student at Salem, the squad amassed a record of 94 wins and 16 losses. He was also captain of the tennis team in his senior year.

Following graduation in 1967, he worked as an administrator at Salem State following a year of playing professional basketball in Greece. He became the school’s first full-time Athletic Director in 1981, holding the job for over 20 years. During that time, he was instrumental in expanding the department’s exposure on campus, and the role college athletics would play within the state college system of the Commonwealth. He implemented many new practices that would be adopted by the other state colleges in Massachusetts. In 1982, Salem State became the first state college to hire full-time athletic coaches and administrators. Mr. Galaris created an endowment specifically for athletics and led a successful campaign to upgrade the facilities on campus. He helped expand the Sport and Movement Science program and increased the number of varsity sports teams from 15 to 22. Under his leadership, Salem State won 112 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) championships. He was also instrumental in promoting women’s sports, culminating in the creation of post-season tournaments for women’s athletic teams. His influence helped change the landscape of Division III athletics in Massachusetts and, in 1990, he began a seven-year stint as the third commissioner of the MASCAC. He was inducted into the MASCAC Hall of Fame in 2019.