Following a big year on and off the playing surfaces for Bulldog athletics, Concordia University Director of Athletics Devin Smith has been voted by his conference peers as the GPAC Athletic Director of the Year.
. Smith has overseen the athletics department at his alma mater since June of 2010.
“This recognition is a by-product of administrative support and the work of many quality athletic department staff members and students,” Smith said. “God has truly blessed Concordia with people who were willing to sacrifice personal gain for the betterment of Concordia’s broad-based success. It is humbling to overcome challenges and empowering to be valued by our administration while attempting to live out our mission and vision. This accolade says more about the willingness of our administration, staff and students to succeed in God’s eyes than it says about a single person. However, I am extremely grateful and overwhelmed by this recognition.”
In 2014-15, Concordia athletics captured the GPAC All-Sports Trophy for the first time in 10 years and head coach Kregg Einspahr’s men’s outdoor track team captured the school’s first-ever team national championship. The Bulldogs also topped all conference institutions in combined student-athlete GPA to earn the GPAC-Christopherson All-Academic Award. Both men’s outdoor track and field and wrestling won GPAC regular-season championships and three female teams hoisted GPAC tournament championship trophies: basketball, soccer and softball.
Other national highlights included women’s basketball’s advancement all the way to the national title game for the first time ever, wrestling garnering its highest-ever national finish (12th), women’s soccer recording its first-ever national tournament appearance and the softball program reaching the opening round for the second-straight season. Men’s track and field, powered by individual national titles from Cody Boellstorff, Zach Lurz and Josh Slechta, placed in the top five of both national meets and the women turned in fifth and 11th-place national finishes.
Additionally, the baseball team broke the program record for wins in a season and both golf squads set new school standards for team season average. The volleyball program also broke out with a 20-win campaign for the first time in seven years while earning a spot in the GPAC semifinals in 2014. Men’s soccer racked up 10 wins or more for a school record fourth-consecutive season.
