In two seasons as the Director of Athletics at Long Beach State Vic Cegles has overhauled the 49er athletic department and provided a new path for the department to follow. Cegles, who was hired as the school's 12th Director of Athletics in April 2006, has already made an impact in the athletic department's ability to fundraise which is key to his goal of making Long Beach State, not only the premiere school in the Big West Conference, but a player on the national stage when it comes to both athletics and academics. Since coming to Long Beach State, Cegles has restructured fundraising and consolidated booster clubs into the 49er Athletic Club. The result has been a 39 percent increase in fiscal year 2007 and a 29 percent increase in fiscal year 2008 in the total dollars raised, while balancing the athletic budget in both his years at LBSU. In addition, Cegles has created a five-year strategic plan encompassing facilities, endowments, fundraising and staff enhancements. He created a new governing body for athletics, while also initiating an athletics capital campaign seeking over $35 million for facility construction, renovations and scholarship endowments. Long Beach State has excelled both on the playing fields and in the classroom under Cegles' leadership. Academically, all 18 NCAA intercollegiate teams at Long Beach State scored higher than 925 on the latest Academic Progress Rate, the only California State University and just one of three state institutions overall from California to achieve such a goal. The athletic department also received a national NCAA "Diversity Award" in 2008. Competitively, Long Beach State won six conference championships and made six NCAA Tournament appearances during the 2007-08 season, a year after winning three league titles and making four NCAA Tournament appearances. Cegles not only reorganized the entire athletics administration staff, but he also negotiated new contracts for baseball coach Mike Weathers and volleyball coach Brian Gimmillaro while also hiring three new coaches including men's basketball coach Dan Monson who has taken seven teams to the postseason, including leading Gonzaga to the Elite Eight during the 1998-99 season. From 2003-06 Cegles was at Temple University where he reorganized the athletic department's fundraising endeavors, coordinated efforts between the department and the university's development office and directed corporate sponsorships. Previously he was vice president of business development for Gaylord Sports Management in Scottsdale, Ariz., after serving 16 years at Arizona State University in athletic development and external affairs. He ultimately served as the lead senior associate athletic director for external affairs in his final two years at ASU. While at Arizona State he led the athletics department's $25 million capital campaign to enhance facilities and endowments and, among other responsibilities, supervised baseball, men's and women's golf and women's gymnastics. He also was the assistant athletic director for development at Rutgers University for five years. Cegles served as assistant basketball coach at Carnegie Mellon University and as an assistant basketball and baseball coach at West Virginia Wesleyan College and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He holds a degree in business administration from Bucknell and a master's in counseling and student personnel services from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Cegles and his wife, Bonnie, have two sons, Vic, who played baseball at Rutgers, and Casey, who is a junior on the football team at Towson University. |
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