St. Thomas alumnus Phil Esten was announced Monday as the new vice president and athletics director of the university.
Esten starts his role in January and will take over for Steve Fritz, who announced his retirement earlier this semester.
“(With) my passion for intercollegiate athletics and providing an impact on students, coupled with the opportunity to come back to a place whose vision is really inspirational … it was hard for me to say no,” Esten said after the conference announcing his appointment. “Regardless of level, I think this is where we can make the most impact.”
Phil Esten addresses the media at a conference announcing his appointment as athletics director. Esten is a St . Thomas alumnus and currently serves as deputy athletics director at Penn State. (Noah Brown/TommieMedia)
Esten currently serves as deputy athletics director and chief operating officer for Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics, a position he took in 2014.
Prior to his term with Penn State, he held a similar position at University of California-Berkeley from 2012 to 2014. He also served as the associate athletics director and president and CEO of the Alumni Association at the University of Minnesota from 2004 to 2012.
“I can’t think of anybody who is better prepared to take us into the future,” Fritz said during the conference. “He will bring great energy to us, and he has a great vision for the future.”
The LaCrosse, Wisconsin native graduated from St. Thomas in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in business. He also played catcher for the baseball team.
He went on to earn his master’s in sports management at Ohio State University and his doctorate in kinesiology from the University of Minnesota, teaching graduate level courses in the kinesiology department as an adjunct professor.
“We both had a vision for the important role that athletics plays in the lives of our student athletes,” President Julie Sullivan said during the conference. “We both had a strong vision for the role (it) plays in our … St. Thomas community, as well as our broader community.”
Esten will be the first new athletic director St. Thomas has had since the early ‘90s, when Fritz first took the job. Esten will finish the football season with Penn State before he officially begins at St. Thomas in January. Both Esten and Fritz are working out how the transition period from January until Fritz’s retirement in May will work. Sullivan said Fritz will serve as a director emeritus until June once Esten arrives.
“You can’t replace Steve. You can only look to build upon what he’s created,” Esten said. “We’re going to … pursue excellence in the classroom, in the community and in competition, and that mirrors pretty well what Steve did in his time here.”
Though he has attended or been employed by five different universities, Esten said his first has always held a special place.
“I’ve always been a Tommie. It’s really an overwhelming feeling,” he said. “I’m excited to be back on Summit Avenue, I’m excited to back in St. Paul and I can’t wait to get started.”
Ava Diaz can be reached at diaz7981@stthomas.edu.
Noah Brown can be reached at brow7736@stthomas.edu.