Between Two Desks with Derek Zander

Welcome to Between Two Desks, an interview series where St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Commissioner Dr. Dick Kaiser talks with Athletic Directors from around the league. Throughout the series get to learn more about each school's AD, how they got to the position they are in, and why they love working in athletics. Today we meet Derek Zander, Athletic Director at Iowa Wesleyan University.

The journey from the beaches of Florida, to the mountains of Colorado and then on to the cornfields of Iowa, Derek Zander has had a meteoric rise in a professional coaching and administrative career that has seen him toil as a lowly college volunteer baseball coach to his current position of Vice President for Admissions and Athletic Director at Iowa Wesleyan University. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Derek in an extended interview and these are some excerpts from that discussion.

How long have you been at Iowa Wesleyan University?
I am entering my ninth year at Iowa Wesleyan. I came as a student-athlete and have steadily worked my way up from just playing baseball to my current position with admissions and athletics.

Where did you grow up and attend high school?
My whole family has been part of the military. My mom moved our family from Florida to Colorado Springs to live with my grandparents at an early age. It was my mom and two other siblings that made the move to Colorado. Much of my educational years were spent in Colorado Springs where I attended Mesa Ridge High School.

Did you participate in athletics as a kid and up through high school? Which sports did you play?
I grew up playing a lot of sports that included soccer, some football, basketball, and baseball. Eventually, I settled in on baseball and played almost year-round with summer ball, fall ball, and then of course in the spring. My mom emphasized academics and so I took them very seriously along with playing baseball. During my senior year in high school, I was All-Conference as an outfielder and I also pitched but most importantly I won some academic awards which ultimately opened some opportunities to be recruited.

Where did you attend college and did you participate in college athletics? What degrees have you achieved?
I was recruited by 4 or 5 schools but the place where I got the best opportunity was Indian Hills Community College in Centerville, Iowa. I gained a connection with the pitching coach at Indian Hills and ended up getting a full-tuition scholarship. Indian Hills was in a very tough conference, so we played lots of great competition. After I graduated from Indian Hills with an Associate Arts degree, I was given the opportunity to come to Iowa Wesleyan and I have been here ever since. In my junior year at IWU, we won the conference outright, and then again as a senior, we won the conference tournament and advanced to the NAIA regionals. I ended up graduating from Iowa Wesleyan with a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise science and have since completed my master's degree at California – Irvine. Something that a lot of people don't know about me as you can't probably tell now, but I became very involved in cross fitness plus strength and body training. That was a passion for me for a while that I really enjoyed.

What convinced you to go into athletics as a profession?
I loved sports and it has always been a big part of my life. I used my passion for athletics as a springboard toward a career. Athletics allowed me to develop relationships that ultimately provided me an opportunity to improve my life. Right after I graduated from Iowa Wesleyan in December 2011, I was given the opportunity to be the volunteer baseball coach. That meant not only helping coach but preparing the fields and doing the laundry. In 2012, I was offered the head baseball coaching job at Iowa Wesleyan at the age of 22. I was definitely thrown into the fire but loved every second of the opportunity. I am a strong advocate of what athletics can do for individuals as I am proof athletics can provide a better life even though it is a very time-consuming profession at times.  

Within your resume, where were your most important professional stops along the way that helped you?
Having the opportunity to become a head coach at Iowa Wesleyan at such an early age allowed me to wear multiple hats. I was not only the head baseball coach but also the recruiter, the field maintenance chief, and the primary fundraiser for the program. With all those responsibilities, it taught me very quickly to learn to manage my time and prioritize my efforts. I was a young kid with a lot of responsibilities thrown on me at an early age so it took some time to build the necessary relationships I needed to be successful. There were times of adversity for sure, but we got through them and that was important for my career. I truly believe that I've advanced at Iowa Wesleyan from volunteer baseball coach to Athletic Director and Vice-President because I have stayed the course and have proven myself to be able to get the job done.

Are there any specific individuals that feel were great mentors that helped you along the way?
That's a good question and I struggle with that a bit. Some of the most important people in my life are my mom and my grandparents. I wouldn't be where I am at today without them being such good role models. They encouraged me to do well in school and I was the first person in our family to graduate from college. As for other individuals, I have always tried to learn from everyone that I have ever worked with. That includes coaches, administrators, and various support personnel. Two Vice Presidents, Wesley Brooks, and Nikki Ferren have provided an example of leadership styles that have allowed me some great latitude to help grow our programs while providing the support I need to be successful.

What experiences along the way best prepared you to be an AD at the college level?
I'm a low-key guy that doesn't always put themselves out there in front of the crowds. So it's interesting one of the most important experiences that affected my preparation was a negative one. As a freshman at Indian Hills, I was left off the travel roster for the playoffs and that dejected feeling made me more aware of how those kinds of decisions can affect people. The second experience was when I became the head coach at Iowa Wesleyan at such a young age. The amount of responsibility and various hats one must wear as a head coach was a big learning curve for me. I had no real idea of the number of hours I would need to get the job done, so that experience really taught me how to get focused, prioritize, and go do the work.

What do you find most rewarding within your position as the Athletic Director?
Most important is the students and the relationships that I have been able to build with not only the baseball players I coached but with so many others. I really enjoy the opportunity to serve as a resource for students because they know I will be honest and open with them. One of my favorite parts of the job is when I get a letter from a former student that just wants to share something going on in their life. I have been asked to write many references and that's always fun because you have been an eye-witness to their individual growth and maturity.

Not counting the pandemic, what have you found to be the most taxing as it relates to your position?
I have been surprised by the number of reports that are requested from athletics. You can spend a lot of time just fulfilling those requests without getting to all the other position demands. Another thing would be that I have a young family, so the amount of hours the job requires takes you away from your family quite a bit and that is hard for everyone involved.

As a coach or administrator, what has been a real highlight in your career?
Whenever a student achieves a personal goal or accomplishment, no matter how big or small it may be, that brings me great satisfaction. At Iowa Wesleyan, the development of the women's softball team has been a real plus for everyone in athletics because we had earned a chance for a championship. And it goes without saying, the day Iowa Wesleyan was notified they had been accepted into the NCAA several years ago was a true milestone because of all the work that goes into that application process.

What advice would you give to every student-athlete about their college experience?
I always tell the students to try and engage themselves in as many activities as they can handle. They need to not be afraid to react to an experience and don't waste the opportunity to learn new things. I always try to encourage students to not back down from a reasonable challenge or a difficult task because there is an opportunity being presented to them for growth as an individual.

Finally, as we close this Q & A, please tell me about your family.
I met my wife, Anna, five years ago at Iowa Wesleyan. She played basketball here and I was coaching. Ultimately she ended up being the Sports Information and I ended up being the Athletic Director. We have one son, Mason, who was born in 2017 and we are having a second boy in December of this year. 

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