Athletics Director to Retire, Search Process Begins

PUEBLO - Colorado State University-Pueblo President Timothy Mottet has announced the start of a national search for a new Director of Athletics following an announcement by current Athletics Director Joe Folda that he would retire at the close of the 2017-18 academic year.

Mottet has appointed Karl Spiecker, Vice President for Finance and Administration, to chair a national search with the assistance of search consultant Kurt Patberg, Ph.D., senior vice president of Athletics Staffing & Consultants.  Dr. Patberg is a former commissioner both of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (6+ years) and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (3 years). He has successfully conducted 18 NCAA Division II athletic director/commissioner searches including 11 NCAA Division II AD searches over the past 34 months.

“We are seeking a dynamic, bold, and innovative leader who engages across the campus and creates processes and systems that develop both staff and athletes to their fullest potential,” said Mottet. “For more than 30 years, Joe has admirably led both Pack athletes and coaches, and I couldn’t be more appreciative for his service and commitment to this institution.”   

Search committee members are being finalized this week in order for an initial meeting to occur before the Thanksgiving break. Folda will continue to lead Pack Athletics until April 30. According to the search schedule, the position will be posted by the end of November with review of applications to begin in late January and video and on-campus interviews scheduled for February and March. 

Folda is the longest-tenured athletic director since legend Harry Simmons who served in the post for 16 years from 1964-80.  Folda has been at the helm of Pack Athletics since 2005, after serving two interim stints in 2001 and from 2003-05. In his term as Athletic Director, he led a significant athletic expansion, both in terms of sports, athletic facilities, and the number of student-athletes. He oversaw the growth of the athletic department from 11 programs in 2005-06 to 22 in 2014-15 and helped establish the CSU-Pueblo Athletics Hall of Fame. Nearly 100 All-American honors have been collected by athletes since he started as full-time Athletic Director as well as an individual and team NCAA National Championship. The most recent season (2016-17) saw the Pack’s highest finish in the NCAA Division II Learfield Directors’ Cup at 35^th and the most points ever in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Cup.

Prior to becoming Athletic Director, Folda spent 18 years as the head men’s basketball coach, where he distinguished himself as one of the top tacticians and teachers in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.  He is the all-time winningest men’s basketball coach in school history, sporting a 305-205 (.598) record from 1987-2005.

Folda came to CSU-Pueblo from Eastern Washington University. He began his coaching career at Seibert (Colo.) High School in 1966 and over the next 13 years coached at Holy Family High School in Denver, Sidney (Neb.) High School, and Sterling (Colo.) High School. He began his collegiate playing career at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo., where he twice earned all-conference and all-region honors, and was named honorable mention All-American. He transferred to the University of Northern Colorado, where he earned All-Conference and regional All-American honors and was the Bears’ top scorer as a senior, averaging 15.1 points per game.

Folda received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Northern Colorado before earning his master’s degree at Eastern Washington.