Northeastern Director of Athletics and Recreation Jim Madigan announced on July 11, 2023 that Alex Perkins has been named the next head coach of the men's rowing program. Perkins, who has been on staff since 2021, spent the 2022 season as interim head coach.
"Alex has displayed tremendous leadership and provided a steady hand over the last year in the interim role, proving that he is the clear choice to serve as the next head coach of our prestigious men's rowing program," Madigan said. "He has earned the respect of the student-athletes, coaches, administrators and supporters of our program, and has built positive relationships with everyone he's come in contact with since arriving at Northeastern. Our student-athletes have succeeded at the highest levels, both on the water and in the classroom, and I am excited for the next chapter of Northeastern men's rowing under his guidance."
Perkins is the fifth head coach in the 58-year history of the program, and recently guided the Huskies to a sixth-place finish in the first varsity at the 2023 IRA Championships, up two spots from an eighth-place finish a season ago. At the national championships in which all three varsity boats reached the A/B Semifinal, the first varsity advanced to the Grand Final for the third time in the last four championships (2023, 2021, 2019) after a thrilling semifinal race that saw the Huskies edge rival Harvard in the final meters of the race.
"I am incredibly excited to continue building on the great legacy of Northeastern men's rowing," Perkins said. "I know there is a lot of excitement amongst the team, and the staff is looking forward to getting back to work on the Charles in a few short months. We have a great group of returning student-athletes and a very strong freshman class arriving in September, and I know the team is ready for the challenges that lay ahead. I want to thank the team, alumni, and friends of Northeastern Rowing for their loyal support to the program and I look forward to our continued work together in the coming years."
Following the championships, four student-athletes (Rhett Burns, James Cartwright, Alexander Abuhoff and Cole Brann) were named Empacher-IRCA All-Americans while 10 Huskies also earned IRCA Scholar-Athlete status for earning a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or better.
Perkins and assistant coach Trevor Appier, meanwhile, collected the IRCA Leadership Award, given annually to a coach or administrator who has shown great leadership and become a role model for men's collegiate rowing.
Perkins spent his first season at Henderson Boathouse as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator, helping lead the Huskies to a 13th place team finish at the IRA Championships. Along the way, the Huskies earned an upset victory over Stanford at the PAC-12 Challenge as well as dual wins over Penn, Boston University, and Wisconsin.
Before Northeastern, Perkins worked at Boston University where he spent the last five seasons coaching the Terriers. In 2019 Perkins was promoted to first assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. At BU, Perkins was responsible for leading the BU recruiting efforts and coached the second varsity. In his five seasons at BU Perkins helped the Terriers to multiple program-best finishes at the Eastern Sprints, IRA Championships, and at the Head of the Charles.
Perkins is a 2015 graduate of the University of Washington where he was a member of the Huskies' 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 Division I National Championship teams. During his collegiate career at Washington, Perkins sat in the stroke seat of the Huskies' varsity eight that won the Grand Final at the PAC-12, and the IRAs in his freshman, sophomore, and senior seasons. Additionally, he was also a four-time Henley Royal Regatta Finalist and 2012 Temple Challenge Cup Champion. In 2012, Perkins sat in the bow seat of the eight that won the championship eight event at the Head of the Charles Regatta.
Perkins rowed for the U.S. team at both the Junior and U23 level. He sat in stroke seat of the 2014 Men's U23 eight leading them to a bronze medal at the World Championships.
