Brian DeAngelis
Director of AthleticsAlma Mater: Florida Southern '94
E-mail: bdeangls@ecok.edu
Office Phone: (580) 559-5261
Brian DeAngelis became East Central University’s Director of Athletics on March 26, 2007.
Since then, the university’s athletic department has experienced unprecedented growth. In his five year tenure, DeAngelis has overseen the addition of two female sports – volleyball and golf – and has completely overhauled the internal and external operations of the department in order for it to run more effectively and efficiently.
He authored the department’s first student-athlete handbook, established a fifth-year scholarship program, instituted an academic success plan, improved communication between coaches and faculty, and helped establish university policies regarding student-athletes and procedures for formally evaluating coaches. His ’13 Sports-1 Team’ message has become the tag line for the athletic department. In the area of facility enhancement, a new basketball floor and goals have been installed in Kerr Center, the Hall of Fame lobby in Kerr Center has been completely renovated, a new digital message center was installed outside Kerr Center, and new baseball, softball, and soccer scoreboards have been added to those venues.
In January of 2009 under DeAngelis’s leadership funds were raised for a new 6,500 square foot strength and conditioning center that opened in August of 2009. In addition, new bleachers were installed in the football stadium, baseball field, soccer field, and tennis courts. The tennis courts were resurfaced in the summer of 2010 with privately raised funds and university support. In the last couple of years, the football, women’s basketball, and baseball locker rooms were all given significant upgrades through private donations. The Tiger baseball complex went through the biggest overall. Through a significant individual donor contribution, not only were the locker rooms renovated, but so too were the batting cages, coaches office, restrooms, and baseball field. This spring the softball field was recently renovated as a new backdrop and suspended netting system was installed along with some other improvements. A campaign is currently underway to provide major improvements to the football facility.
Under DeAngelis’ direction, the Tiger Club was initiated in 2007 and has become a major fund-raising mechanism for the department of athletics. The Varsity Club, initiated in the summer of 2010, is a fund-raising mechanism that engages former ECU athletes. Membership has increased by over 90% in the last year alone. Corporate partnerships have more than quadrupled in the past 5 years with over 60 companies around Ada supporting Tiger Athletics in some form.
His efforts have also led to a new FM radio agreement to broadcast football and basketball games on 105.5 FM, a 25,000 watt station here in Ada, a new website partnership with Athleticsite.com and an all apparel deal with Anaconda Sports. All of these additions have enhanced ECU’s athletic profile and have greatly impacted its bottom line.
His efforts have forged community partnerships in multiple areas in which the student-athletes are involved. In particular, ECU's partnership with the Ada Boy's and Girl's club has served as a model program for town's the size of Ada. ECU is also the first university in the state of Oklahoma to put its athletes through the "Life of an Athlete" program. This program in coordination with the Brandon Whitten Institute on campus provides education in the area of alcohol and drug abuse and its effects on athletic performance. Each athlete completed a one hour on-line course and will continue to receive ongoing education in this area throughout each semester.
DeAngelis currently serves on the NCAA Division II Committee for Legislative Relief and is the former Chair of the Council of Athletic Administrators for the Lone Star Conference. His efforts led to the formation of a new Division II conference, The Great American Conference, in which ECU began play in the fall of 2011. This new conference is composed of 3 Oklahoma schools and 6 Arkansas schools. Two additional schools have recently accepted membership, South Nazarene University and Northwest Oklahoma State University.
The last five years has proven former president Dr. Richard Rafes’ words to be true on the hiring of DeAngelis.
“Brian has high energy, outstanding leadership skills and the strong desire to advance athletics at ECU. He will be an excellent fit for our university,” Rafes said. “He is committed to excellence on and off the athletic field. I see a bright future for our athletes, our facilities and our programs as Brian puts his expertise in management, marketing and fundraising to work to advance athletics at ECU.”
Under DeAngelis’s direction, Tiger athletics has been in the process of competitively building all 13 programs. The 2010-11 campaign proved to be the breakout year. Hired in January 2009 by DeAngelis and under Head Coach Tim McCarty’s leadership, Tiger football had a five game improvement going 5-6 while winning the LSC North championship in 2010 after a winless season in 2009. For his efforts, Coach McCarty was named “Daily Oklahoman Coach of the Year”. In 2009, ECU softball was just 12-23, but ECU then went 34-21 in 2010 while making the LSC championship game. The momentum carried over into the 2011-12 season. This past fall the Tigers enjoyed one of their most successful athletic campaigns in school history. Football posted an 8-3 record (the most wins in school history as a member of NCAA Division II). Women’s soccer enjoyed a 12-6 season while winning the inaugural GAC championship. Men’s cross country, 11th in the nation, won the inaugural GAC championship while qualifying for the national meet. Women's cross country finished second in the GAC championship meet. Hired by DeAngelis, head cross country coach Steve Sawyer and women’s soccer head coach Riley Bailey each earned GAC coach of the year for their respective sports. Volleyball finished 4th in the GAC and made it to the semifinals of the conference tournament. At the end of the fall campaign, ECU currently ranked 72nd in the NACDA Learfield Director's Cups standings for all of Division II. This is the highest ranking in ECU's history. The athletic year culminated just as successful as it started. Men's and women's tennis both earned team runner-up finishes in the GAC. Softball finished 3rd in the regular season while having their third straight winning season. Baseball won more games (26) this season (17 game improvement from previous year), and best overall record since the 2004 campaign.
Tiger athletes have enjoyed success off the field as well, graduating at a 21% higher rate than the typical ECU student during the 2010-11 school year. ECU had 75 student-athletes who earned LSC academic awards breaking a school record. East Central also had 12 student-athletes who received individual academic awards in their chosen major during ceremonies on campus in the spring of 2011. In 2010 and 2011, women’s soccer received the USSCA academic team award, volleyball received the AVCA academic team award, and men’s cross country received USTFCCCA academic team honors.
Prior to his arrival at ECU, DeAngelis served in several capacities during his seven-year stint at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, ranging from Assistant Athletic Director to Interim Director of Athletics. DeAngelis went to work for the Islanders when the program was in only its 2nd year of existence with only 4 sports competing as that program was started from scratch in the fall of 1999. He helped lead the programs development over the next several years and was directly responsible for the oversight of the entire internal operation of the athletic department, managing 14 sports and a $4.2 million budget, organizing staff and hiring personnel, directing facility improvements, game management and other various duties. He was a major reason that TAMU-CC became a certified NCAA Division I institution and gained membership into the Southland Conference. DeAngelis earned Employee of the Year honors at TAMU-CC in 2004.
Personally academics are also very important to DeAngelis as he has continued to teach at every institution in which he has worked. He currently teaches a marketing management course at ECU and also has taught sports management course at TAMU-CC as well as principles of management and operations management courses at Delta State University in Cleveland, Miss. Delta State, like ECU, is an NCAA Division II institution where he earned his MBA degree in Management and was named the Outstanding MBA Award recipient in the School of Business.
DeAngelis was assistant athletic director at Delta State for nearly five years and saw the Statesmen win numerous GSC championships; compete in the men’s and women’s basketball Elite 8, and even win a national championship in football in 2000. He also served as the Head Cross Country Coach and Compliance Officer while at Delta State. He received a bachelor's degree in business administration, with a concentration in marketing and sports management, from Florida Southern College in 1994. As a member of the cross country team at FSC, he was a four-time MVP and two-time all-conference selection and named to the Sunshine State Conference Silver Anniversary Team.
DeAngelis and his wife, Valarie, have two daughters – Brianna, 10, and Kaylee, 7
