Boye Akinsiku entered his first season as a member of the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights men's basketball coaching staff in 2021-22, where he was named Director of Basketball Operations.
No stranger to the Knights' squad, Akinsiku served as team manager during the historic 2018-19 campaign which saw the Knights win the Northeast Conference title. In the NCAA tournament that year, the Knights defeated Prairie View A&M in the program's first-ever March Madness victory.
After graduating with a Bachelor's of Sport Management degree at William Paterson, Akinsiku arrived on the Hackensack as a graduate student, studying Sports Administration. During this time he served as the men's basketball graduate manager. In this role his responsibilities included, day-to-day operations, including practice and game set-up, apparel/uniform management and distribution, food orders, laundry responsibilities, travel packing preparation and assisting coaches, student-athletes and administrators with various needs.
In September 2019, Akinsiku was named an assistant men's basketball coach at the City College of New York and led recruiting efforts for the tri-state area, while focusing on junior colleges across the country. In August of last year, Akinsiku returned to FDU, this time as an assistant coach on the University's Florham campus where he assisted in every aspect of daily operations including practice and game planning, on court instruction, player development, academic advisement and community outreach. He also spearheaded virtual recruiting efforts, utilizing online resources to identify potential student-athletes while also attending in-person showcases and other events in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
On his return to the Knights, Akinsiku remarked, "Once I heard the news I was elated. Anytime you get the chance to go back home, where it all started - it's truly special."
"The chance to work under Coach Herenda and staff was something I could not pass up. Coach [Herenda] has proven multiple times he can build quality NEC teams that compete for championships and I wanted to be a part of that again," said Akinsiku. "This is about as full circle as it gets for a young aspiring coach like myself. Working as a manager here in 2018 and 2019 for the most recent FDU team to win an NEC championship is very special to me. I'm very appreciative of Coach Herenda for giving me this opportunity to come back and work for such a great school and program."
