Dakota Wesleyan University (DWU) officially named Ross Cimpl Interim Athletic Director Friday, December 1st. Cimpl will hold this position until May of2024, giving the university the spring to campaign to find a new full time athletic director.

Cimpl was born and raised in Wagner. He is the eldest son of Dan and Kelly Cimpl and grandson of Tom and Vicki Studelska. During his time at Wagner High School, Ross was very active in football, wrestling, track and many other school activities. In 2007-2009, Cimpl took his first college coaching position with the University of Sioux Falls, before starting at DWU spring of 2010.

For Ross’s first two seasons with DWU he was an assistant coach and defensive coordinator. Cimpl was named head coach in January of 2012 and has held that position ever since. After being involved in a couple of conversations with DWU’s administration about the athletic director position and what they were looking for, Cimpl was asked if he would be willing to fill the interim role.

Cimpl was a good candidate for the position. He has been with DWU for 13 years.

He is very familiar with the athletic department and how DWU athletics work. This should help keep DWU’s athletic department as consistent as possible. Ross is hoping to continue DWU’s momentum by being a good resource in his new position to DWU’s new coaches as well their experienced coaches.

Even though he has taken the interim athletic director position, he will still be doing his football head coaching duties. Cimpl’s assistant coaches Alex Kretzschmar and Michael Bernarde will be stepping up to help guide their players and make decisions for the program in his absence.

When asked if this is a potential full-time position that Cimpl would be interested in, Ross said that he had not given much thought in the matter if this would be position that he would like to pursue. In order to become the athletic director, he would have to give up his position as head coach for DWU’s football team. It would definitely be something that if he were to become interested in, he would really have to think about.

In his role as interim athletic director, Cimpl will be expected to support, evaluate, and retain the quality coaches that DWU has in its department. He will also have to enhance the strong relationships that DWU has developed in Mitchell and the surrounding communities.

Lastly, he will need to be involved in the operation of the athletic department regarding letters of intent, scholarships, budgets and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) reporting.

Even though he is very new in the position, Cimpl is looking forward to working with all the coaches and athletes on the campus and providing as much help and guidance to them as he can. DWU’s student athletes have consistently been in the top in the NAIA in regard to team grade point averages (GPA)s. DWU has a good system in place that the student athletes and coaches have been using to make sure their athletes are successful in both sports and in the classroom. In that area, Cimpl will not have to change or create anything new, but possibly enhance what is already being done in order to ensure classroom success for DWU student athletes.

Cimpl measures success in athletics by win/loss records and athlete growth throughout the season. Ross feels that DWU coaches do a great job of building a program, instead of just a team. DWU wants all of their teams and coaches to experience success. With that being said, it is important to provide their coaches and student athletes with the tools and resources to have success after their time at DWU.

As the interim athletic director, he will be looking for certain qualities and skills in the hiring of coaches. One of the main responsibilities for any coach coming into the DWU athletic program is the ability to recruit quality student athletes. That starts with being able to build relationships with potential recruits and their families. Another important skill he will be looking for in potential coaches will be their ability to provide a vision and plan for the program that he or she will be working with.

Ross is married to his wife Linda. His oldest son, Preston Nedved, is a senior at DWU who plays football and baseball. He and Linda also have two other children, Charlee and Porter. In his free time, Ross enjoys fishing and hunting. He and his wife stay busy with all the events that their children are in. Ross enjoys being able to watch them all participate in extracurricular activities.

Cimpl feels very honored to have been selected as DWU’s interim athletic director. He is excited and looking forward to working with the great people in the athletic department in a more involved way. Congratulations Ross on your new position!