IW athletics launches five-year strategic vision

By Andy Krutsinger, Mt. Pleasant News

Change is coming for the athletic division of Iowa Wesleyan University. The institution recently launched, ?committing to excellence,? a five-year vision that aims to drive enrollment and improve all aspects of the school?s athletics.

Derek Zander, who was recently named interim athletic director at IW, stopped by The News last week to discuss his new position and the new direction the athletic division is headed toward.

?When I first got into coaching, back in 2012, I knew that I wanted to be an administrator eventually,? said Zander about taking on the roll as interim AD. ?I wasn?t expecting it to happen as quickly as it did (but) obviously you always hope and want to move up the totem pole as fast as you can.?

Zander was originally the acting athletic director after former AD Steve Williamson?s departure, but moved up earlier this summer. The position of AD was bumped to full time, so Zander stepped down from the head baseball coaching position and into the interim AD roll.

Zander says the school?s new vision is broken into three themes, aimed to positively effect the student-athlete experience, update facilities, equipment and technology, and also bolster the IW athletic brand.

Zander says one of the more exciting steps is to look into potential new sports for the University. IW currently has 10 athletic teams competing but may be up to 14 by the fall of 2019.

Zander says the athletic staff has done feasibility studies on which sports would make sense for IW. In the recent past, IW has had track and field and cross-country teams, but brand-new sports such as wrestling and bowling have been looked at.

The updating of facilities has already began to take place. New logos have been placed on the outside of the Howe Student Activity Center and the school has been working on the inside of the building as well.

?We just want to create a place our student-athletes are proud to be at,? says Zander. ?You?ve seen our renovations so far with the exterior signs, but the indoor collages that we have are going to continue over the next couple of years.?

One of the main goals of the strategic vision is to put IW ?on the map? so to speak. Zander says he would like IW to be as well-known as other small Iowa colleges.

?We want people to know who Iowa Wesleyan is,? says Zander. ?When Simpson is mentioned, and when Coe is mentioned, we want to be mentioned in those conversations.?

Another goal, according to Zander, is to serve the community of Mt. Pleasant by bringing more excitement to the athletic programs. The school has already seen bigger crowds at home games recently, especially during basketball season.

Although Zander says he?ll miss his post as baseball head coach, he?s excited for the future and what the IW athletic division can become under his tenure.

?We want to grow,? he says. ?We want people to know who we are, and we?re really looking forward to where this vision is going to take us in the next few years.?