Augustana Director of Athletics Mike Zapolski
From the Sidelines
Michael Zapolski
Director of Athletics
The Greek philosopher Heraclitus is credited with coining the phrase — “The only constant in life is change” — and it has been a season of significant personnel changes at the Carver Center.
In the last few months, Augustana has hired six new head coaches to direct various programs. The complete list of new head coaches includes:
Kyle Flores – Head Cross Country Coach and Assistant Track and Field Coach
Chad Gunnelson – Director of Track and Field/Cross Country
John Nelson – Head Softball Coach
Jonathan Paul – Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach
Jordan Tice – Head Women’s Lacrosse Coach
Payton Tucker – Director of Esports
While the process of hiring new head coaches is labor- and time-intensive, it is undoubtedly the most significant job responsibility of a director of athletics. It was invigorating and professionally refreshing to conduct multiple head coaching searches the last few months — particularly when sharing information about our institutional success. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with prospective new coaches who were genuinely enthusiastic and excited about the bold and bright possibilities that Augustana had to offer.
I am confident that we have bolstered the coaching staff with our six new head coaches, and I look forward to helping them build their respective programs to be regular contenders for CCIW championships.
In other news, last spring Augustana had the opportunity to host the USA Water Polo Division III National Women’s Championship at the Anne Greve Lund Natatorium. We will be hosting the men’s version of that event on December 2-3.
The four-team USA Water Polo championship will include one program from the East Coast, two teams from Southern California, and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF)-East Division champion. Augustana captured its first MPSF-East Division men’s title in November 2022, and will be looking to repeat this fall and secure a spot in the national tournament for the first time in program history. Women’s wrestling is one of the nation’s fastest-growing sports at the small college level. Augustana will sponsor its third season of women’s wrestling in 2023-24, and will host the inaugural Quad Cities D3 Invite at the Bend XPO Center in East Moline on February 3. The tournament will feature nearly 30 NCAA Division III programs from across the nation, and place a tremendous spotlight on the sport.
Michael Zapolski – Director of Athletics
