Bruce Van De Velde Last College: Iowa State Position: Athletics Director Email: vandevelde@latech.edu Graduated: 1982

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Bruce Van De Velde was named Louisiana Tech's athletics director in February of 2010 by Louisiana Tech President Dr. Dan Reneau.

"Bruce is well qualified by national standards to fill the position of athletics director at Louisiana Tech," Reneau said. "I feel that we made an excellent choice in selecting him to lead Tech athletics to national prominence and to serve the needs of our student-athletes."

Van De Velde, who joined the University in June of 2008 as deputy athletics director and chief operating officer, took over full leadership of a department that fields 16 NCAA Division I sanctioned programs, including nine women's and seven men's sports, that compete in the highly-competitive Western Athletic Conference.

"It is an honor to be named as the director of athletics at Louisiana Tech University," Van De Velde said. "I look forward to serving our student-athletes, faculty, staff, alumni and fans. Our vision is to build a program to a level where we can be associated with universities that aspire to academic and athletic excellence at the highest level.

"This goal is consistent with the vision President Reneau has established for the University which is to become north Louisiana's premier national research university. In order to accomplish this vision we must engage all of our 80,000 alumni, fans and supporters and ask them for their participation. It takes resources to achieve our goal, and we need every one to support the program."

During his tenure Van De Velde has been instrumental in a number of accomplishments that have helped further the advancement of the University's athletic department, including:

• Developed, negotiated and implemented $6.75 million multi-media and marketing rights agreement with Learfield Communications. Contract more than doubled revenue derived from corporate sponsorships and created state-wide radio network for Louisiana Tech athletics. Negotiated purchase of $1.6 million Daktronics large screen high-definition video board for Joe Aillet Stadium.

• Upgraded ticket operations by negotiating new contract with Ticketmaster. Improved customer service, marketing and communication efforts. Developed e-commerce capabilities by implementing on-line ticketing. Established new record for football season ticket sales. Sold allotment of 12,000 Independence Bowl tickets.

• Reorganized annual giving program doubling the number of donors and increased total annual contributions to the program by 75 percent. Developed marketing efforts to strengthen outreach and established an agenda for growth. Implemented new giving plan for 1,150 new chair-back seats for football.

• Led a national search in January of 2010 to hire head football coach Sonny Dykes from the University of Arizona. Was instrumental in hiring head women's basketball coach in Women's Basketball Hall of Fame member Teresa Weatherspoon.

• In 2010, the Louisiana Tech athletic department earned the PRISM Award for excellence in athletics management under Van De Velde's leadership.

•Organized a $20 million fund raising campaign for Louisiana Tech athletics "Quest for Excellence." Oversaw the development of the design of a new $20 million athletic sports complex.

Tech has also seen plenty of success on the fields and courts since Van De Velde's arrival at Tech as the Bulldog football team captured its first bowl victory in more than 30 years with the 2008 Independence Bowl title. The Lady Techster basketball team won the 2009 regular season Western Athletic Conference title and the 2010 WAC Tournament title, and the women's indoor and outdoor track and field teams won both the 2009 and 2010 league titles.

The University's student-athletes have also seen success in the classroom since his arrival on campus as this past year saw eight of the 16 program's record their highest multi-year APR ever and seven record their highest single-year APR ever. During the 2009-10 season, Tech saw 94 student-athletes earn Academic all-WAC honors for their work in the classrooms while senior sprinter Antoinette Cobb earned the Honda Inspiration Award for her work both on the track and in the classroom while overcoming a battle with cancer.

Van De Velde came to Tech with impressive credentials, having served as an administrator in intercollegiate athletics for over 20 years. Van De Velde served as athletics director at Iowa State University and Utah State University and as a senior administrator at the University of Oklahoma, University of Missouri and Kansas State University.

Van De Velde's tenure at Iowa State University included an unprecedented five bowl appearances in six years and the highest national AP football poll ranking (9th) in school history. Iowa State's 2001 average football attendance of 45,172 reached its highest watermark in 18 years. In 2002 and 2003, total football attendance exceeded 300,000; the most at ISU in two decades.

The emergence of the Cyclone football program on a national stage with Van De Velde at the department helm was affirmed in 2002 when Iowa State was chosen to play No. 1 Florida State University in the Eddie Robinson Classic. During Van De Velde's tenure at Iowa State, the men's and women's basketball teams won Big XII conference championships and participated in the 2001, 2002 and 2005 NCAA basketball tournaments.

Van De Velde, with a track record for generating revenue, increased the total annual operating revenues for the Cyclone athletic department from $19.6 million to $30 million dollars over a five year period. Revenue generated from fundraising, ticket sales, marketing and corporate sponsorships, licensing, radio and television reached all-time highs during his tenure.

In 2005, total fundraising increased from $4.85 million to $8.6 million and the annual giving achieved the highest membership total in its history with more than 5,500 donors participating and a record $4 million dollars in annual contributions. Under Van De Velde's leadership, over 2,000 new donors joined the National Cyclone Club. Including capital project gifts, scholarship endowments and annual contributions, over $40 million dollars was raised from 2001 through 2005.

Iowa State's graduation rate of 89 percent for student-athletes who complete their eligibility was second in the Big XII Conference, and graduation rates for minority student-athletes more than tripled during Van De Velde's tenure. In 2004-05, Iowa State was one of eight universities nationally to have its football team win a bowl game and have its men and women's basketball teams participate in the NCAA tournament. The Sporting News in 2001 rated Iowa State as the seventh best athletic program among more than 115 NCAA Division I-A programs nationally. The ranking considered competitive success, graduation rates, fan support and NCAA compliance to determine national rank.

During his time as athletic director at Utah State University, Van De Velde made his mark by hiring Stew Morrill as the head men's basketball coach. Morrill has guided Utah State to nine straight postseason tournaments and is the winningest coach in the history of the Utah State program.

While serving as the associate athletic director for football operations under head coach Bill Snyder at Kansas State University, Van De Velde was part of the resurrection of Wildcat football in Manhattan as the program became a national power participating in five bowl games. Van De Velde was recipient of the Admiral U.S. Grant Sharp Award at the 1997 Holiday Bowl for his contributions to the Kansas State football team when the nationally ranked Wildcats finished with a 10-2 record.

As the senior associate athletic for external affairs at the University of Oklahoma, Van De Velde served as the senior administrative officer for the athletic department and oversaw the areas of fundraising, marketing, corporate sponsorships, ticket sales, media relations and licensing. Van De Velde managed units that generated in excess of $35 million in annual revenues.

Van De Velde directed the Campaign for Sooner Sports, a $100 million dollar capital campaign to fund facility improvements and scholarships. As associate athletic director for development at the University of Missouri, Van De Velde planned and initiated a $50 million dollar capital campaign for facility improvements for the Sports Park at MU.

Van De Velde received the General Robert Neiland Award from the National Football Foundation in 2005 for his service and contributions as an athletic director.

Throughout his career in college athletics, Van De Velde has served on numerous NCAA committees including the Championships and Competition Cabinet, the Football Issues Committee, the Financial Aid Committee and the Peer Review Committee for NCAA certification.

He and his wife Debbie, who is a Kansas State alum and who works in the LA Tech College of Business, are the proud parents of 10-year-old daughter, Ashley who is entering the fourth grade.