Roger Bidwell elevated the UConn Avery Point athletic department to new heights and impacted thousands of student athletes during his nearly four decades at UConn Avery Point.
As head baseball coach at Avery Point for 34 years (1982-2015), he posted a 1,007-378-7 record. A a result, he was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame in 2017. Bidwell served as the UConn Avery Point Athletic Director from 1982-2018.
Some of his accomplishments include 13 NJCAA Region 21 Division II championships and six appearances in the NJCAA DII Baseball World Series, which included a runner-up finish in 2010 when the Pointers finished the year 41-10. His coaching during that championship was recognized with Coach of the Tournament honors.
In his first six seasons from 1982 through 1987, Bidwell won the Connecticut Small College Conference Championship, and quickly established himself as one of the best coaches in the region.
In the Constitution State, Bidwell earned a handful of awards. In 2004 and again in 2011, he was named the Connecticut American Legion College Coach of the Year. Bidwell was also recognized by the Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance in 2011, as he was given the Gold Key Award at the 70th annual Gold Key Dinner. Then in 2012, the Pointers’ skipper was named to the Niantic American Legion Baseball Hall of Fame.
Under Bidwell’s guidance, more than 150 of his players went on to four-year schools, with 34 of them going on to play professionally.
When he retired as head coach of the Avery Point baseball team in 2015, Bidwell was the sitting chair of NJCAA Region 21’s Baseball and Standards and Ethics committees.
