WSU Currents •
Spring 2012
5
Athletic
News
A Job
I Love
Eric Schoh excited to be Warriors’ new athletic director
By Grant Wall
A lifelong dream came true for Eric Schoh on May 24.
In front of a crowd of Winona State employees, supporters and friends, Schoh was introduced
as the school’s new athletic director. A La Crescent, Minn., native, Schoh has always had his
sights on the Warrior athletic program.
“
It was an exciting day for me and my family,” Schoh said. “To be able to have my wife, mother and aunt there in the
audience made it really special. This is a great school, both academically and athletically. There have been successes in
both areas, which make it an attractive job on a national level. Having grown up in the area and to be able to do the job
that I love in basically my hometown is a combination that doesn’t come along very often.
“
There is the excitement of a new job and everyone has been talking about the new chapter of Winona State Athletics.
When you combine those things, it made for a really special day for me.”
Schoh came to Winona State from Wayne State College where he spent eight years as the school’s athletic director. In that
time his eye for putting the right person in the right position and an innovative approach to
fundraising helped make Wayne State into a consistent presence on both the
regional and national stage.
“
At Wayne State the things that helped us the most there were the
people I hired and the fundraising we were able to do,” Schoh
said. Those things helped Schoh spearhead a series of facility
improvement projects that directly impacted every athletic
program at the school.
Schoh has hit the ground running since entering his office
for the first time on June 11, building a staff and making
preparations for the 2012-13 academic year. With his feet on
the ground, Schoh is working to gather as much information
as he can about the university.
“
Before I can determine what I need to focus on, I have a lot
of information to gather and people I need to visit with,”
Schoh said. “I have some ideas of where the pieces
of the puzzle fit together, but I still need some more
background information. There was an immediate
need to fill three positions, and we have those
filled with great people.”
“
Now we need to make sure the staff
gets out and fundraises to get ready
for the fall. From there we will start
putting a plan together for what a
year from now and five years from
now looks like.”
“
It was an
exciting day
for me and
my family,”
WSU Currents •
Fall 2012
5
