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St. Olaf baseball coach, former Ole athlete named athletics director

Le Ann Finger
August 7, 2003

Matt McDonald has been named Director of Athletics at St. Olaf College, succeeding Cindy Book, who held the position for the past five years. Book has opted to return to coaching as assistant volleyball coach and will remain chair of the college?s Recreation, Physical Education and Athletics Department.

Matt McDonald
McDonald
McDonald, who has coached the St. Olaf baseball team since 1994, will be the director for men?s and women?s sports at the college, which is a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). McDonald will also retain his position as head baseball coach.

With 27 sports for men and women, St. Olaf has more sports than any other school in the MIAC.

?As a former St. Olaf athlete and current head coach, Matt has a thorough understanding of athletics at St. Olaf,? Book says. ?I have enjoyed my tenure as director of athletics and wish him much success in his new role.?

A native of Beaver Dam, Wis., McDonald earned his bachelor's degree in psychology from St. Olaf in 1989 and played on the varsity football and baseball teams. He lettered for three years in football and four years in baseball. McDonald played on the 1988 and 1989 MIAC championship baseball teams at St. Olaf, captaining the 1989 squad. He was named All-MIAC and All-Region second baseman in 1988 and 1989, and led the MIAC in hitting in 1988. McDonald returned to his alma mater in 1991, where he has taught and coached baseball, football and golf. McDonald earned his master?s degree in Kinesology from the University of Minnesota in 1994.

?I am thrilled to become the director of athletics at St. Olaf,? McDonald says. ?Cindy Book has been a fantastic role model for me, and I look forward to working hard for our student-athletes and with our staff.?

After four years as a St. Olaf baseball player, and four years as an assistant coach to the legendary Jim Dimick, who coached at St. Olaf for 27 years, McDonald was named head baseball coach in 1994. He has continued the team?s winning tradition by accumulating a record of 241? 109 at St. Olaf, winning more than 20 games per season for nine straight seasons, setting school records for conference wins in 1997 (16), 2000 (18) and 2001 (18), and setting a school record for overall wins ? with 36 wins in 2000.

The baseball team won the MIAC conference championship for three consecutive years in 2000, 2001 and 2002, and finished second in the conference in 2003. The team?s 2003 MIAC tournament victory earned the team a trip to the NCAA Division III Baseball National tournament.

In addition, McDonald has served as the chair of the NCAA Division III baseball committee for the past three years.

McDonald and his wife, Barb, live in Northfield with their two children, Katie, 13, and Tommy, 6. He is a member of Bethel Lutheran Church and a coach in the Northfield youth softball program.

Contact Le Ann Finger at 507-646-3834 or finger@stolaf.edu.