DePaul University Athletics
DePaul Announces Promotion and Changes in Track and Field Programs
7/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | TRACK AND FIELD
July 13, 2010
CHICAGO - DePaul athletics director Jean Lenti Ponsetto announced today that former NCAA Champion Dave Dopek has been promoted to head coach of the track and field programs. Additionally, Pat Savage will continue as head coach of the cross country programs for the 2010 season. Savage has led the track and field teams for the last four seasons.
"When Pat Savage came out of retirement four years ago to lead our cross country and track and field programs, the plan was put into place to mentor Coach Dave Dopek to take over the track and field programs," said Ponsetto. "Over the last four years, Pat and Dave have worked together to advance the strategic plan of our cross country and track and field programs as evidenced by the number of BIG EAST Champions and NCAA qualifiers we have had during their tenure together. Coach Savage and I met in the spring and determined now is the time to for him to transition back to working with our distance programs and turn the reigns of the program over to Coach Dopek."
"I look forward to the challenge of continuing our track and field team's success. There is still much work to be done, but I believe that our staff and current roster is up to that challenge," said Dopek. "It is my goal to establish DePaul University as a destination for track and field athletes, especially those in the Chicagoland area. Who wouldn't want to be part of a great university, with an outstanding academic and athletic tradition, that calls Chicago home."
The greatest sprinter in DePaul history, Dopek enters his 16th season as a member of the track and field coaching staff and his first as head coach. Before beginning his coaching career, Dopek wrote his own chapter in the DePaul history books. He became the school's first individual (or team) to win an NCAA championship when he captured the 200-meter title at the 1995 NCAA Indoor Championship at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. Dopek also finished second in the 200 meters at the 1995 outdoor championships.
Dopek's success on the national scene continued when he won a gold medal in the 200-meter dash and was a member of the title-winning 4x100-meter relay team at the 1995 United States Olympic Festival. He has also experienced success on the international level by earning gold and silver medals at the 1995 World University Games in Fukuoka, Japan. At the 1997 World University Games in Sicily, Italy, Dopek was on the gold-medal winning 4x100 and 4x400m teams. With the Blue Demons, he claimed seven individual and three relay titles in the Great Midwest Conference and was inducted into the DePaul Athletics Hall of Fame on Jan. 30, 2010.
"Working alongside Coach Savage these past five years has given me a great amount of insight about being a successful head coach," said Dopek. "His love for DePaul University and his desire to improve the quality of our track and field teams mirrors my own. It comes as a great honor to be named the men's and women's track and field head coach in his immediate footsteps. I want to thank Jean Lenti Ponsetto and Kathryn Statz for giving me this incredible opportunity to give back to the university that I have called home these past 19 years. What can I say... I love DePaul University and I am truly excited about what the future holds for our track and field and cross country teams."