Chad Yowell

Executive Director of Athletics

Email: cyowell@wheatonma.edu
Office: Haas Athletic Center
Phone: 508-286-3998
Fax: 508-286-8249

Profile

Chad Yowell is beginning his 21st year as executive director of athletics at Wheaton. Yowell oversees all facets of a highly competitive NCAA Division III athletic department that includes programs in 21 men's and women's varsity sports, intramural and club sports, and general student, staff and faculty recreation.

Under Yowell's guidance, Wheaton athletics have expanded dramatically. In addition to upgrading the existing eight women's programs upon his arrival in 1988, Yowell not only added an additional four sports teams to the women's program but also launched a men's program of nine sports following Wheaton's transition to coeducation in 1987. Over the last 19 years, he has tripled the size of the full-time coaching staff, quadrupled the departmental budget and implemented a multi-faceted recruitment plan.

Yowell has directed a department that has regularly placed among the upper echelon in the annual Directors' Cup standings, which recognizes the most successful collegiate athletics programs in the country. Wheaton has finished among the top 25 programs in four of the last eight years, including a 17th-place standing in 2004 in a pool of 430 NCAA Division III colleges and universities. During the 2007-08 academic year, the athletics program flourished as its varsity teams compiled a record of 226-116-4 (.659).

The school has indeed enjoyed tremendous success under Yowell, capturing eight NCAA national championships, 13 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) titles and 77 New England Women's and Men's Athletic (NEWMAC) regular season and tournament crowns. Wheaton has also hosted the 1991, 2002 and 2007 United States Collegiate Synchronized Swimming Championships as well as several NCAA, ECAC and NEWMAC Tournament events.

During Yowell's tenure, Wheaton has enjoyed the benefits of boasting some of the nicest facilities in New England, including the Evelyn Danzig Haas Athletic Center that was recognized at the 1991 National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Midwest Facilities Conference. In addition to an athletic treatment center, locker rooms, classrooms and department offices, the 102,000-square-foot facility contains an eight-lane pool, a hardwood floor gymnasium that seats 1,000 people and a multi-purpose field house with a 200-meter, six-lane track.

Wheaton offers six lighted outdoor tennis courts, the renovated Clark Recreation Center, which served as Wheaton's main athletic facility before Haas, and numerous playing fields, including baseball's James. V. Sidell Stadium. The Lyons' facilities also include the newly renovated Thomas A. Pappas Fitness Center, Christina Mirrione Stadium for women's soccer and men's lacrosse, Clark Field for softball and field hockey, and Keefe Field, training site for the 1994 Nigerian World Cup soccer team and home to Wheaton's men's soccer and women's lacrosse teams.

In addition to playing a major role in Wheaton's athletic successes and fine facilities, Yowell has developed and implemented the Wheaton Athletic Mentor (WAM) program, instituted the first Student Athletic Advisor Group and negotiated rental agreements with the college on behalf of the Wheaton coaches in order to have camps run during the summer months.

Yowell has been extremely active on various committees throughout the region and nation. Having served on the NCAA Division III Championships and Infractions Appeals committees, Yowell was a member of the Management Council, Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee, Strategic Planning Committee and the NCAA joint subcommittee on the future of Division III athletics. He also served as the NCAA New England chair for softball from 2000-03.

Yowell was a member of the ECAC Executive Council in addition to serving on the ECAC Award of Valor Committee and men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball tournament selection committees. From 1993-95, he was the first male to be selected president of the New England Women's Eight Conference (NEW 8). At Wheaton, Yowell is involved on several committee groups, including the College Benefits Review, President Budget Advisory, and Alcohol and Vandalism Task Force.

Named Division III Northeast NACDA AD of the Year at the conclusion of the 2003-04 academic year, Yowell was one of 25 winners across the nation honored. The NACDA AD of the Year program recognizes athletic directors who have shown administrative excellence within the campus and/or college community for the designated academic year. Winners are spread out over four geographical regions, and the membership is separated into six categories. One winner is chosen from each of the four regions in the six designated categories along with one international winner for a total of 25 recipients.

Prior to Wheaton, Yowell was employed at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, for 12 years, where he served in several different capacities. As Dean of Students from 1984-88, Yowell was a member of the president's council that was responsible for providing leadership and program development to all aspects of student life. He also managed a budget in excess of $2 million dollars in addition to overseeing a new academic support and services program. At Pacific, Yowell held the athletic director post from 1981-84 and was an assistant professor from 1976-84. From 1976-87, he had his hand in coaching golf, women's basketball and baseball in addition to serving a stint as an athletic trainer.

A 1972 graduate of Utah State University, Yowell holds a bachelor's degree in physical education with a minor in geography. He later attended Portland State University and earned a master's degree in teaching in 1975. He and his wife Charlene have been married for 37 years and currently reside in Norton. They have four grown children and seven grandchildren.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 7/17/08.
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