URI Retiring Brad Boss' Number At The Arena Named After Him

KINGSTON, RI — The man the University of Rhode Island's Boss Ice Arena was named after now will get his jersey raised to the rafters.

Bradford Boss, a member of the URI Athletics Hall of Fame, multi-sport standout, and one of the founders of the URI men’s club hockey team, will have his number retired at 4 p.m. Saturday at Boss Ice Arena in a special pre-game ceremony before the Rams’ showdown against the U.S. Naval Academy.

As his jersey is raised to the rafters of the arena, Boss will join URI President Marc Parlange to deliver remarks followed by a post-game reception — sponsored by the University’s Foundation & Alumni Engagement – with Boss’ family and members of the 2024–25 URI men’s hockey team, including head coach Joe Augustine, the university’s all-time winningest coach.

A class of 1955 alum, Boss excelled at URI in tennis, sailing, and later hockey after helping launch the men’s club program in 1951. He was awarded an honorary degree in 1982 and named a member of the URI College of Business Administration’s Hall of Fame in 2001. He was also elected to the URI Athletics Hall of Fame in 1978 and the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 1980. A strong supporter of his alma mater and former chair of the Ice Arena Advisory Committee, Boss’ contributions through the years helped fund the Thomas M. Ryan Center and Boss Arena projects, the latter of which opened its doors in September 2002.

Boss is also a past president of the Rhode Island Golf Association and CEO and Chairman Emeritus of Costa Inc., formerly known as A.T. Cross Company, a high-end pen and pencil manufacturer in Lincoln. He has long served as an official at The Masters at Augusta National and as a committeeman for the United States Golf Association, most recently for the Senior Amateur.

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