Dave Diles Jr. is the current

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

Lake Superior State University Lake Superior State University (colloquially Lake State, Lake Superior State, Soo Tech, and LSSU) is a public college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It is enrolls approximately 2,000 students. Due to its proximity to the Canadian border, and the ...

. A native of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Diles previously served as director of athletics at Eastern Michigan, St. Bonaventure,

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...

, and the

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

. He was also an administrative assistant for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in the late 1980s. Diles was named VMI's eleventh athletic director in September 2013. He is the successor to

Donny White Donny White (November 7, 1942 - August 17, 2021) was an American college athletics administrator and coach. He was the athletic director at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), a position he held since 1998. White announced his retirement on M ...

, who had held that position since 1998. He has had over twenty years of college administrative experience. He is the son of the late sports broadcaster Dave Diles Sr.

Personal life

Diles was born in 1961 in the city of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a nearby suburb of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. His father, Dave Diles Sr., was a prominent ABC Sports broadcaster. The two had a close bond together through sports, and the younger Diles noted in a press conference that his father once called him on the phone, crying, to let him know that his son's favorite hockey player (

Gary Bergman Gary Gunnar Bergman (October 7, 1938 – December 8, 2000) was a Canadians, Canadian professional ice hockey player. A Defenceman (ice hockey), defenceman, Bergman played in the National Hockey League, NHL, mostly for the Detroit Red Wings. He was ...

) had been traded.September 9, 2013
"New AD willing to stick chin out for VMI."
Roanoke Times. Retrieved July 11, 2014. His father died in December 2009 from a stroke. Diles attended

Ohio University Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...

from which he graduated in 1983 with a master's degree in sports administration.September 4, 2013
"Dave Diles Named New VMI Athletic Director."
VMIKeydets.com. Retrieved July 11, 2014. Diles later earned a doctor of education from the

in 1988. He is married to his wife, Suzanne Irene Diles, and the couple has two sons, Matthew and Mitchell.

Administrative career

Diles' athletic administrative career began in at

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

where he was the

Chippewas The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

' assistant athletic director from 1989 to 1991. He then took the same position at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

from 1991 to 1994. Diles received his first head athletic directing job in 1994 at

St. Bonaventure University St. Bonaventure University is a private Franciscan university in St. Bonaventure, New York. It has 2,381 undergraduate and graduate students. The Franciscan Brothers established the university in 1858. In athletics, the St. Bonaventure Bonn ...

in western

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. During his tenure with the Bonnies, the school's programs won more

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...

championships in from 1995 to 1999 than they had in all years prior. After leaving St. Bonaventure in 1999, Diles went to Eastern Michigan University. He oversaw the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

win 21 total

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

titles in a six-year span, and graduation rates of Eastern Michigan student-athletes almost doubled. The Eagles

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team, however, failed to achieve a winning season under Diles' direction. In 2005, Diles stepped away from the Division I ranks and became the athletic director at Division III-

. He cited that he choose the school for a "breadth of responsibilities. Having an opportunity to expand my professional responsibilities to include physical education, intramurals, club sports, recreational programming was very attractive."September 4, 2013
"Diles hired as Keydets’ new AD."
Roanoke Times. Retrieved July 11, 2014. In Diles' tenure, Case Western football made the Division III playoffs three times. The team also won 38 consecutive regular-season games, and Diles oversaw the opening of ''Village at 115'', which included expanded fan seating and press boxes.September 5, 2013
"Athletic Director Dave Diles accepts position at Virginia Military Institute."
CWRU-Daily.com. Retrieved July 11, 2014. Following an eight-year career with Case Western, Diles was appointed as the eleventh athletic director for the

on September 4, 2013. He was appointed by VMI superintendent

J. H. Binford Peay III James Henry Binford "Binnie" Peay III (born May 10, 1940) is a retired four-star general of the United States Army. He served as the 14th superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute from 2003-2020, and as chairman of the Allied Defense Group ...

, and was the successor to

, who had been the Keydets' athletic director since 1998. The contract was for four years worth $150,000.

References

External links

VMI profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diles, Dave Jr. 1962 births Living people Case Western Spartans athletic directors Eastern Michigan Eagles athletic directors St. Bonaventure Bonnies athletic directors VMI Keydets athletic directors Ohio University alumni University of Michigan School of Education alumni People from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Sportspeople from Michigan