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Jeff Schemmel 
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Jeff Schemmel, who has elevated San Diego State athletics to unparalleled success, enters his fourth season on Montezuma Mesa.
In 2007-08, San Diego State posted its best-ever finish in the 15-year history of the Division I ' ¬ÃƒÆ’Æ'à € 'à ‚¬ ' ' ¬ ¹ ' ¬ U.S. Academy Director's Cup for on-field broad based success. Aztec student-athletes continued to excel in the classroom as well, with 218 student-athletes earning 3.0 cumulative or 3.2 semester grade-point averages in 2007.
In addition, San Diego State is coming off one of the most successful spring seasons of any school in the country, joining Michigan, Stanford and UCLA as the only four schools to qualify for the national championship in men's golf, softball and women's water polo.
Added evidence of the Aztecs' success across the board was demonstrated this past spring, when four San Diego State sports finished in the top 35 of their national championships, including a second straight top-five finish for water polo and a 14th-place finish for men's golf (the highest placing for an SDSU ' ¬ÃƒÆ’Æ'à € 'à ‚¬ ' ' ¬ ¹ ' ¬ men's sport in an NCAA ' ¬ÃƒÆ’Æ'à € 'à ‚¬ ' ' ¬ ¹ ' ¬ Championship in eight years). In June, Schemmel was also tabbed as the chair of the NCAA Championships and Sports Management Cabinet, which directly oversees nearly every NCAA Division I championship. The Cabinet is one of six committees that make up the restructured NCAA Governance Structure.
Schemmel was named San Diego State's athletic director on July 6, 2005, and is recognized as one of the most accomplished sitting athletic directors in the country. He is a former practicing attorney, has directed a Final Four, served as a senior administrator at Big 10 and Big 12 schools, and played a part in what might be the biggest football turnaround in the history of college athletics.
Schemmel arrived at San Diego State from Conference USA, where he had served as associate commissioner for governance and legal affairs since October of 2004. During his stay in Dallas, he helped the league negotiate television contracts with ESPN and College Sports Television that exceeded more than $100 million in revenue, and he served as a member of the NCAA Division I Management Council.
From February of 2004 to October of 2004, Schemmel was the senior vice president and executive director of development for the Arizona State University Foundation, where he oversaw the school's fundraising efforts while supervising approximately 135 employees across the Tempe campus.
Schemmel was an administrator at the University of Minnesota from 1991 to 2003. During his stay in the Twin Cities, he advanced from associate athletic director for compliance to senior associate athletic director and chief operating officer for Gopher athletics. Along with his departmental duties, Schemmel directed the school's efforts in hosting NCAA Championship events, including the 2001 Final Four, one of America's fastest growing events.
He also supervised and helped implement a $3 million capital improvement campaign, and was heavily involved in the hiring of Minnesota's head football and men's basketball coaches. From 1988 to 1991, Schemmel was an administrator at his alma mater, Kansas State. He served as the school's assistant athletic director for development and later was the associate athletic director for compliance while supervising the school's Olympic sports.
Schemmel was part of the management team that hired Bill Snyder as the Wildcats head football coach. Under Snyder's direction, Kansas State executed what is considered one of the greatest turnarounds in college football history. K-State had made just one bowl appearance in its history prior to Snyder's arrival, did not win a single game in the two seasons before he took over in 1989, and had just three wins in the previous four seasons. Under Snyder, the Wildcats went to a bowl game 11 times and claimed their first-ever Big 12 title.
Schemmel was a decorated runner at Kansas State and was named the 1976 outstanding student-athlete at the school. As a Wildcat, he was a four-time track and field All-American, a five-time Big 8 Conference champion, was a member of a national champion distance medley relay team and won the Big 8 Conference Medallion.
He also served as an ABC Television and Time Magazine correspondent for the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
After earning his undergraduate degree in political science, Schemmel earned his law degree at Washburn University in Topeka, Kan. He began his professional career as an attorney and later was a partner in his own firm, specializing in business and sports law.
Schemmel and his wife, Lori, have been married for 31 years. They have two sons, Justin (28), and Jon (25), who plays minor league baseball in the San Diego Padres organization.
SPORTS
- Baseball
- Men's Basketball
- Women's Basketball
- Cross Country
- Football
- Men's Golf
- Women's Golf
- Lacrosse
- Rowing
- Men's Soccer
- Women's Soccer
- Softball
- Swimming & Diving
- Men's Tennis
- Women's Tennis
- Track & Field
- Volleyball
- Water Polo
