MORAGA, Calif. — Today Saint Mary's College President James A. Donahue announced the promotion of Mike Matoso to Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics.
 
Matoso sits on the President's Cabinet and this promotion reflects recent changes across the campus announced by Donahue last week.
 
Matoso is entering his third year leading the Gaels' athletics department and has had tremendous success in his first two years. Matoso has reorganized his senior staff, completed an overhaul of the budget process, and created a development structure to enhance department funding in his time at Saint Mary's.
 
President Donahue states, "Mike is an extraordinary leader who is making a positive difference here at Saint Mary's. He fully embodies the values and mission of SMC, not only in the context of intercollegiate athletics but also in the college as a whole. His commitment to the well-being of our student-athletes is remarkable. Mike represents the best of what SMC is."
 
Under Matoso last season, the Gaels had a national Coach of the Year in Coach Adam Cooper, men's soccer; four NCAA appearances, including men's basketball after winning the West Coast Conference tournament; and 156 student-athletes named to the WCC Commissioner's Honor Roll, an 8-percent increase over previous years.
 
During his first season, Matoso launched the inaugural President's Scholar-Athlete Luncheon, recognizing student-athletes with a GPA of 3.25 or higher. Last season the luncheon grew in number of student-athletes and faculty and has quickly become a must-attend event on campus.
 
In back-to-back seasons under Matoso, fundraising and revenue generation have hit record highs, including ticket sales, capital campaigns, and the revamped Galloping Gaels Fund. In his first season, Matoso led an $8 million renovation of McKeon Pavilion and in year two has begun construction on a new indoor hitting facility and a new weight room for the Gaels. Last year, Matoso secured the largest contribution to benefit student-athletes in the history of Saint Mary's Athletics, a $3 million gift from the Kalmanovitz Charitable Foundation. This gift will allow the College to move forward with Phase II of the Student Athlete Performance Complex. Having exceeded its revenue goals in the past two seasons, Saint Mary's is on pace to break season ticket sales marks this season.
 
"Saint Mary's Athletics has great coaches and staff in place and together we are moving towards our vision of being the premiere mid-major athletics program in the country, balancing both athletics and academic success," Matoso said. "I look forward to many more years of success and am proud to represent such a distinguished institution."
 
With the announced changes across campus, Campus Recreation, including intramurals and club sports, will now be a division of Student Life.