JIM STERK	Last Updated 7/27/12
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics   Third Year     Official Hiring Press Conference 2/15/10   GoAztecs.com Interview 2/16/10   Photo Gallery   Official Hiring Release 2/15/10

Jim Sterk enters his third season as the University's Director of Intercollegiate Athletics having already left an indubitable mark on San Diego State. He has overseen the most successful two seasons in San Diego State athletic history. With a record number of scholar-athletes in the classroom, he also negotiated the Aztecs' football program into the BIG EAST Conference beginning in 2013, and oversaw SDSU's record-breaking fundraising campaign this past season.

On the field, San Diego State continues to set itself apart, compiling the highest combined winning percentage in the country in football and men's basketball since the beginning of the 2010-11 season at 79.4 percent (77-20). SDSU is one of only two schools in the state of California to advance to bowl games each of the last two years (Stanford) and was one of only 16 schools nationwide to have both its men's and women's basketball teams participate in the 2012 NCAA tournament and the football team advance to a bowl game.

The overall success of the program can best be demonstrated by the fact that a school-record nine athletic teams advanced to postseason play and scored postseason points in NCAA competition in 2011-12. Two of those programs - men's golf and outdoor track & field - finished among the nation's top 10.

Since arriving at San Diego State in February 2010, Sterk, 56, has led the Aztec athletic department to fiscal stability. Despite state cutbacks, he has ended each of his first two seasons at SDSU in the black, while athletic department fundraising is at an all-time high.

His impact has also been felt throughout the department, as he has hired or extended the contract of 12 current head coaches at San Diego State. The current collection of Aztec head coaches have combined to earn 24 conference coach-of-the-year honors.

His vision of a program that competes with the nation's best on the field and one that takes a back seat to no one in the classroom is well on its way to becoming a reality.

This past April, a school-record 275 individuals were honored as scholar student-athletes at the year-end banquet, bettering the mark set in Sterk's first year on The Mesa.

What may be most impressive is Sterk's role in the negotiations that resulted in SDSU accepting an invitation to play football in the BIG EAST Conference beginning in the fall of 2013. In addition to moving the program into a BCS conference, the move helps solidify additional broadcast revenue for both the department and school.

It didn't take long for San Diego State to make an impression on Sterk. In his first 20 days at his new job in March of 2010, the men's and women's basketball teams both claimed the Mountain West Conference tournament championship. Then he watched both programs advance to the NCAAs and was on site when the women's program upset Texas and West Virginia en route to advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history.

Sterk came to SDSU from Washington State University, where he served as athletic director since 2000. Prior to his hiring at WSU, he was the AD at Portland State University from 1995 to 2000.

Sterk also has a solid reputation and the respect of his peers across the country. The NCAA recognized him in 2006 as the Division IA Athletic Directors' "Program of Excellence."

He oversaw a period of unparalleled success at Washington State with historic accomplishments both on and off the field.

In his last three years at WSU, 13 Cougar teams competed in NCAA postseason tournaments, including back-to-back trips by the men's basketball team (2007 and 2008), while women's rowing earned five NCAA championship bids, including a fourth-place finish in 2006, the highest finish ever by a WSU women's team in NCAA competition

Sterk graduated from Western Washington University in 1980, where he earned four letters in football and one in basketball. He was credited with a school-record 164 tackles during the 1977 season, garnering first-team NAIA District I all-star accolades. He was named team captain and MVP, helping the Vikings to the district championship game. On Feb. 6, 2010, Sterk was inducted into Western Washington's Athletics Hall of Fame for his success in football.

Sterk received his master's degree in sports administration from Ohio University. In addition to SDSU, Washington State and Portland State, his professional career has also included positions at North Carolina, Maine, Seattle Pacific and Tulane.

Sterk and his wife Debra have three children: Ashley (23), Amy (20), and Abby (17)