Soliday named Vanguard AD

Vanguard University men’s basketball coach Rhett Soliday will add athletic director to his job title beginning May 1, the school will announce on Monday.

Soliday, 35, who guided the Lions to the program’s only NAIA championship in 2014, replaces retiring athletic director Bob Wilson. Soliday will continue to coach the men’s basketball team.

In addition, Vanguard has hired Jeff Bussell as associate athletic director to replace Nolan Steputis, who is stepping down to pursue another business opportunity.

Soliday had originally rebuffed inquiries about his interest in the athletic director position and was, in fact, part of the search committee that screened and interviewed candidates. But, during the process, he said he began to believe he could serve the university and the growth of the athletic program moving forward, by assuming the athletic director role.

“What Bob Wilson has built here is something significant that is recognized across the country,” said Soliday, who was named 2014 NAIA Division I National Coach of the Year and is 107-80 in six seasons at the helm after joining the program in 2010 after assistant coaching stops at UC Irvine and Concordia University, where he also played basketball. “I initially believed we were going to be able to get somebody who could come in here and continue to build on what Bob has done, so I said I was perfectly happy in my coaching role and wanted to continue that. But as we went through the hiring process, I think some things started changing. Things started stirring in my heart about, one, how much I love Vanguard and, two, the conversations that were created about the direction the department needs to go when you lose a guy like Bob, who is such a legend. Essentially that led to a change of heart [about becoming AD].

Soliday said continued thought and discussions with his family and others led him to the conclusion that he was someone who could “continue to create impact and build on Bob’s legacy in a positive way.”

He also believed his familiarity with the school and its staff provided added justification to become part of a more seamless transition after Wilson retired.

“I know I am taking on a major challenge, but for me, it’s about a commitment to Vanguard and the fact that I really want to be here long-term and be a contributing member of the culture and the landscape overall,” Soliday said.

Soliday said much time has been spent creating a structure, both within athletics and the men’s basketball coaching staff, that would allow him to handle dual responsibilities.

“I will not only be available to work closely with each of our coaches to support them, but also be able to focus a little more on connecting Vanguard externally, including our efforts to fund our programs at an appropriate level,” Soliday said. “Obviously Vanguard has big plans for the future, with everything from facilities projects to growing our brand in the community, so I anticipate I am going to partner with multiple departments on campus to really zero in on how athletics can be not only a part of that process, but an asset to it.”

Soliday said Bussell, in his second year as athletic director at the University of Antelope Valley after spending 10 years in a number of administrative roles at William Jessup University, will handle much of the day-to-day procedural aspects of athletics, including operations.

Soliday also said he will delegate more duties to his basketball assistants that ultimately will give him more time to devote to leading the program as head coach.

Soliday said long-term goals for athletics include facilities projects, most notably a new basketball venue, as well as potentially adding sports.

Even with help, Soliday said he is prepared for increased demands on his time.

“No question it is going to be a challenge, especially in year one and year two,” Soliday said. “I already put in a lot of hours and the reality is, I’m going to be putting in more.

“The bottom line is, I’m at Vanguard to begin with because Bob Wilson gave me an opportunity to become a head coach and he believed in me. He has been an incredible example to me of how to lead a department, how to lead people and how to support your people. The last thing I’m going to try to be is Bob Wilson, because nobody can follow Bob. But I think we have a model that makes sense and in which people can share responsibilities in order to be effective. And I told Bob, he’ll be getting many phone calls from me along the way.”