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| DAN SCHUMACHER Courtesy: Chicago State University Athletics |
Schumacher's final day at Chicago State will be June 13.
"I would like to thank the Board of Trustees and President Dr. Wayne Watson for giving me this opportunity," Schumacher said. "I especially would like to thank the athletics staff, coaches and faculty for such dedication to their craft. I am a Chicagoan, a South Sider. It was an incredible experience to be part of Chicago State Athletics and the Western Athletic Conference. I wish Cougar Athletics great success."
Schumacher's leadership helped Chicago State earn entrance into the Western Athletic Conference in 2013-14, the Cougars' first conference with an automatic bid to the NCAA postseason since 2006.
In the classroom, the NCAA Academic Progress Rate scores released earlier this month have Chicago State entering next year without a team under an APR penalty for the first time in the department's history.
In competition, several Chicago State teams have made major strides during Schumacher's two seasons as Director of Athletics. Men's basketball won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament and earned a berth in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. It was the first championship and postseason berth for the program as a Division I member. In 2013-14, men's basketball matched a program record with eight conference wins. The squad earned the No. 3 seed in the WAC Tournament, the highest seed by a Division I team in Illinois in their respective conference tournament. Baseball won 17 games in 2014, the program's most wins in 14 years. The squad picked up two wins over city-rival UIC. Women's golf set records for team and individual scoring averages. Men's golf saw an individual win a tournament for the first time in nine years.
"Over the past four years Chicago State University has undergone a significant transformation and Dan Schumacher has been a vital part of that process," CSU President Dr. Wayne Watson said. "Under Dan's leadership, our athletic department has become an area of strength for CSU. He helped facilitate our move to the Western Athletic Conference, created a culture of accountability that strengthened our NCAA compliance, and perhaps most importantly, worked to create an athletic department that emphasized academic success above all. The average GPA of our student athletes is now 3.24, and for the first time in the department's history we have zero academic progress penalties. I've immensely enjoyed working with Dan, I appreciate his service to CSU and I wish him all the best as he moves to his next endeavor."
The University has named Associate Athletic Director for Compliance Nino Berticelli as the Interim Director of Athletics. Berticelli has over 14 years of experience in collegiate athletics including seven years in athletic administration. A committee will be formed to conduct a nation-wide search for a permanent replacement.
"I came to Chicago State a year ago because I see the great things that can be achieved here," Berticelli said. "Dan Schumacher has built a fantastic foundation for us to not only meet, but also exceed that potential. It's most important now that we continue to stress those same values which have gotten us to this point: academics as a priority, accountability and doing things the right way. I want to thank President Watson for this opportunity, and for his confidence in me to keep this upward trend going."
COURTESY CHICAGO STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS
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