Wednesday, June 14, 2023
by Western Washington Athletic Communications

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Jim Sterk, a veteran of over 35 years in athletics administration, has been selected as the next director of athletics at Western Washington University.

Sterk becomes the seventh athletic director in the 109-year history of WWU Athletics and will take the helm of a program that is consistently among the best in NCAA Division II for both academic and athletic success. Sterk will report directly to President Sabah Randhawa and he will start in his new role remotely on July 5, 2023. He is scheduled to arrive on campus in early August.

Sterk returns to his alma mater where he is a member of the WWU Athletics Hall of Fame. A native of Whatcom County who was born in Bellingham and raised in Everson, Sterk is a product of Nooksack Valley High School. He was a four-year varsity letterwinner and team captain in football (1974-77) at Western and lettered one year in basketball. Sterk earned his Bachelor of Arts in business administration and physical education at WWU.

“I want to thank President Randhawa and the search committee for placing the trust in me to become the next Director of Athletics at Western Washington University,” said Sterk. “Throughout the process, I had great conversations with campus leaders, coaches, donors, friends, athletics staff and student-athletes, which only strengthened what I already knew…that WWU is a special place. My journey in college athletics began at Western and I am proud the next chapter in my career will be as the leader in a department that is defined by excellence, both in academics and competition.

"The sustainable base that has been built by the student-athletes, coaches and staff, and two great athletic directors in Lynda Goodrich and Steve Card, made this a very appealing position. I am excited for our journey to continue taking my wife Debi and I back home to WWU, our families and friends, as well as Whatcom County and the State of Washington.”

Following his time as a student-athlete in Bellingham, Sterk completed a Master of Science in sports administration at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, beginning his journey in athletics administration that resulted in over 26 years as the director of athletics at an NCAA Division I institution. Most recently, Sterk was the athletic director at the University of Missouri from 2016-2021 with previous stops as the lead figure in athletic departments at San Diego State University (2010-2016), Washington State University (2000-2010) and Portland State University (1995-2010).

No stranger to his Northwest roots, Sterk has spent over half of his career working in high levels at collegiate institutions in Washington and Oregon.

“Having built an exemplary career in athletics administration across the nation at both the Division 1 and Division 2 levels, Jim brings a strong track record of fundraising and all-around athletics department success to Western,” said WWU President Sabah Randhawa. “We are excited to welcome Jim home, and I look forward to working with him to further elevate our athletic and academic success and expand support for Western’s nationally recognized athletics program.”

With a professional career that has spanned five decades, Sterk brings a consistent track record of strong fundraising and all-around department success to WWU. He becomes just the seventh athletic director in the 109-year history of WWU Athletics and inherits a program that is consistently among the best at the NCAA Division II level for high standards in both academic and athletic success.

The Vikings have won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Sports Trophy in back-to-back years and 14 times overall, finished in the top 50 in the NCAA Division II Learfield Directors’ Cup standings in 17 of the past 18 years and won 12 team national championships. Western Washington's high academic standard has resulted in earning the NCAA’s President’s Award for Academic Excellence five times in the last six years.

Sterk succeeds Steve Card, who retired as WWU’s director of athletics in March after a career spanning over 30 years as an associate athletic director, golf coach and athletic director.

“To welcome a Western graduate back to his alma mater is always special. With his deep roots in Whatcom County, his success as a WWU student-athlete and his impressive track record in athletics administration, he will hit the ground running,” Kim O’Neill, CEO of The Foundation for WWU and Alumni and vice president of university advancement, said. “We are looking forward to partnering with him in raising the visibility of Viking Athletics among our alumni, community members and business partners to provide the support our current athletes deserve.”

ALL-AROUND SUCCESS AT MIZZOU
In his most recent stop at the University of Missouri, Sterk helped rebuild a department by leading 18 of the Tigers 20 programs to a postseason appearance in 2020-21. His stop in Columbia, Missouri included the Tigers winning seven individual NCAA Championships and 11 conference team titles. His fundraising expertise helped open new facilities to enhance the football program as it continued its transition from the Big 12 to the SEC and student ticket sales consistently rose during his tenure. In 2020-21 Missouri had a record-breaking fiscal year with $55.5 million in fundraising, capping a string of three of the top five fundraising years in department history.

Academically he helped Mizzou enhance its academic reputation by increasing graduation rates and overall student-athlete success in the classroom. Missouri’s Learfield Directors’ Cup finishes averaged 41.3 from 2016-21, well above its previous 25-year average of 58.3.

FUNDRAISING FUELS REVITALIZED SDSU ATHLETICS
At SDSU Sterk’s six-year tenure revitalized the Aztecs athletic program, highlighted by being named the NCAA Division I Athletic Director of the Year for 2015-16. He oversaw the most successful stretches in SDSU’s athletic history with 32 team conference championships and the fourth-highest combined winning percentage in football and basketball in the nation. The Aztecs appeared in six consecutive football bowl games to set a program record and won a pair of Mountain West Conference titles. San Diego State reached new levels in academic success with over 60-percent of 500 student-athletes earning Scholar Athlete honors in 2016. Sterk successfully erased a $3 million deficit he inherited in large part to annual fund donations, while also growing the athletic department budget and increasing scholarships for student-athletes.

Sterk was a large part of the SDSU community serving on the San Diego Military Advisory Committee, the San Diego Holiday and Poinsettia Bowl of Directors, the San Diego Sports Commission Executive Board and the SDSU President’s Cabinet & Intercollegiate Athletics Council.

SUCCESS ACROSS THE BOARD ON THE PALOUSE
At Washington State, Sterk led the Cougars athletic programs from 2000-2010. His 11 years in Pullman were marked by a lot of success which included 13 sports represented in NCAA postseason play, highlighted by three consecutive football 10-win seasons, men’s basketball reaching the postseason three straight seasons, women’s rowing earning five NCAA Championships appearances. WSU Athletics received the D-1A Athletic Director’s “Program of Excellence” award in 2006 and was recognized as a Top 10 Equity and Diversity program. In 2006, WSU was the recipient of the inaugural “Opportunity Award” presented by the Women’s Sports Foundation and in 2009 the Cougars finished seventh nationally on the “Gender Equity Scorecard.”

With WSU thriving academically and in competition, Sterk also helped the Athletic Foundation membership double in size with annual fits increasing from $3 million in giving and pledges to over $13 million in 2008.

THE START OF THE AD JOURNEY
Sterk began his AD career at Portland State University where he directed the Vikings successful transition from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I status. The foundation for strong department fundraising, facility improvements and academic success were built that followed Sterk along each step in his AD career.

His professional career in athletics administration also included stops at Tulane University, University of North Carolina, Maine and Seattle Pacific University.

IT ALL STARTED AT WESTERN
As a student-athlete at WWU Sterk was selected as a First Team NAIA District 1 All-Star, team captain and MVP in helping lead the Vikings to the 1977 District Championship title game. He was credited with a school-record 164 tackles that season. During his prep career at Nooksack Valley High School, Sterk was twice named a Second Team All-State basketball player, helping the Pioneers to the Class A title game in 1974.