Following department reorganization and staff dismissals and layoffs in June, UC Santa Cruz’s NCAA athletic department has filled its three vacant head coaching positions. For track and field, cross country, swim and dive and women’s soccer, last year’s assistant coaches have been hired to fill this year’s head coaching positions. The department also hired a new interim athletic director, Greg Warzecka.
Former assistant women’s soccer coach Lauren Nadler, former assistant track and field and cross country coach David Klech and former assistant swim and dive coach Matthew Nauman will now be heading their respective programs.
In addition to the new head coaches, all assistant coaches, who were forced to reapply during the department’s restructuring in June, were rehired under new contracts. The only positions left to fill are assistant coaches for women’s soccer and the newly created position for cross country.
The hiring process for new head coaches began July 15, a month after the department decided to dismiss the three former head coaches in response to a “comprehensive review” and a decision to restructure the program. The rehiring process came in a rush as the season for soccer, cross country and swim and dive start within a week and preseason duties, such as managing NCAA compliance and planning the season’s travel were already expected to be under way.
All three new coaching staff members will take the field with their teams next week after completing NCAA compliance training. The three new head coaches are also expected to hire their own assistant coaches.
Warzecka will serve as interim athletic director while associate vice chancellor Sarah Latham will work with the Collegiate Sports Association (CSA) to find a permanent athletic director. The CSA has assigned a panel to work with Latham in the hiring process including Todd Turner, a former athletic director at the University of Washington, Jim Miller, former athletic director at the University of Richmond and Brad Bates, former athletic director at Boston College. Andrea Willer, the current interim athletic director and full time executive director of the Office of Physical Education, Recreation and Sports (OPERS) will continue her role as executive director. Warzecka’s contract is scheduled to end on Dec. 15, by which time the university plans to have a permanent athletic director.
