Vic Cegles
	Last College: Bucknell University '70 Position: Athletics Director

In five 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 the annual fund establishing the 49er Athletic Club. The centralized fundraising approach recognizes both sport specific gifts and scholarship contributions supporting all 18 intercollegiate teams. Following the change, annual fund revenue has increased in each year of Cegles' tenure, despite challenging financial times.

In addition, Cegles continues on the five-year strategic plan focused on facility improvements, endowments and staff enhancements, while the athletic board continues to grow and provide critical leadership, planning for the $25 million athletics capital campaign has become a major priority. A facilities master plan was completed in 2010 focusing on construction and renovation of the softball, soccer, and track stadiums, as well as enhancements to locker rooms and the sports medicine and weight training centers that are scheduled to take place during the 2011-12 academic year. In addition, under Cegles' leadership the university has finalized a long-term, 55-year, lease with the city of Long Beach to operate Blair Field allowing ICA in future years to renovate and improve the home of the Dirtbags.

The first step in that process was completed in 2011, as Cegles secured the largest cash gift in the history of Long Beach State Athletics, a $2 million gift which has provided a renovation of the Walter Pyramid locker rooms, home for four of Long Beach State's athletic programs.

Long Beach State has excelled both on the playing fields and in the classroom under Cegles' leadership. Academically, for the fourth consecutive year all NCAA sponsored teams at Long Beach State scored above the required 925 on the Academic Progress Rate (APR), the only California State University to do so four straight years, and 311 student athletes were recognized as "academic all-stars" by achieving a 3.0 grade point average for the fall or spring semesters. Nineteen student athletes earned a 4.0 GPA and 50 earned a place on the President's List with a 3.75 GPA or better, with 61 placing on the Dean's List with a GPA between 3.5 and 3.74.

Diversity in the coaching and administrative staff is a fundamental goal and the athletics department was recognized under Cegles' leadership in 2008 as a national NCAA Diversity winner.

Competitively, in his five seasons at the helm of the Long Beach State athletic department, the 49ers have won 18 conference championships, with 20 LBSU teams advancing to the NCAA Tournament. In the 2010-11 athletic season, the 49ers men's basketball, tennis and men's track and field teams claimed regular-season conference championships, while the soccer and tennis teams won their conference tournaments. The soccer, tennis, softball and women's volleyball teams all qualified for the NCAA Tournament, with the men's basketball team advancing to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).

Long Beach State's success on the playing fields and courts in 2010-11 resulted in the 49ers winning the Big West Commissioner's Cup for the second time in the last three seasons. The 49ers also claimed the award, which recognizes the conference's most successful athletic department, in 2008-09. LBSU teams won four league championships during the 2008-09 competition year with five teams making NCAA Tournament appearances.

That success came on the heels of the 2007-08 season where Long Beach State had six teams win conference championships and six teams advance to the NCAA Tournament, a year after winning three league titles and making four NCAA Tournament appearances in 2006-07. The 49ers also claimed one league championship and an NCAA Tournament bid, both by the women' volleyball team, in 2009-10.

Cegles has reorganized and refocused the entire administrative staff, and also negotiated new contract extensions for men's basketball coach Dan Monson and women's volleyball coach Brian Gimmillaro. During his tenure, Cegles has also hired eight new head coaches in softball, water polo, men's and women's golf, men's and women's basketball, and baseball with the Dirtbags' Troy Buckley being the newest head coach hired.

From 2003-06 Cegles was the associate athletics director at Temple University where he directed athletics fundraising, marketing and promotions, sponsorship and ticket sales while planning an athletics capital campaign with university development.

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 is a graduate of Rutgers University and a baseball standout who currently works in the athletics department at Virginia Commonwealth University. Casey played wide receiver on the Towson University football team and now works at VCU as well.