Chicago State AD Schumacher resigns

Chicago State athletic director Dan Schumacher announced Friday that he resigned after two years and accepted the same job at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Schumacher’s final day at Chicago State is June 13.

“I would like to thank the Board of Trustees and President Dr. Wayne Watson for giving me this opportunity,” Schumacher said in a statement. “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.”

Under Schumacher, Chicago State joined the Western Athletic Conference in 2013-14. The men’s basketball won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament and played in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. It was the first championship and postseason berth for the program as a Division I member.

Last season, the team matched a program record with eight conference wins and earned the No. 3 seed in the WAC tournament.

Additionally, the baseball won 17 games this year, the most in 14 years. 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,” Chicago State president Dr. Wayne Watson said in a statement. “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 school named Nino Berticelli as the interim athletic director. Berticelli, associate athletic director for compliance, has more than 14 years of experience in collegiate athletics.

A committee will conduct a nation-wide search for a full-time AD.

“I came to Chicago State a year ago because I see the great things that can be achieved here,” Berticelli said in a statement. “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.”