athletic facilities

Mike Snyder begins his seventh year as the athletic director of Illinois College in 2020-21. In addition to his responsibilities as athletic director, Snyder was the president of the Collegiate Event and Facility Management Association (CEFMA) in 2016-17 and was named to the Executive Committee of the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators (NADIIIAA) starting with the 2018-19 academic year. Snyder has helped accomplish a number of impressive feats during his six years at Illinois College. Some of those highlights include the construction of new homes for the IC baseball and softball programs plus a new throws area for the track & field teams, the addition of lights to England Stadium and the Bellatti Tennis Complex, a weight room renovation, a video board at England Stadium, the addition of the Chi Alpha Sigma fraternity to honor student-athletes with excellent academics, and the expansion of varsity sports to include esports and competitive cheer & dance. Under his watch, Illinois College has also seen upgrades to its playing surfaces, including a new court design in Sherman Gymnasium, new turf at England Stadium, and a resurfacing of the track in King Fieldhouse. The 2016-17 academic year was a particularly impressive one for the athletic programs of Illinois College. The women's programs at IC combined for their highest-ever finish in the MWC All-Sports standings in fourth place. The men's programs combined for the second-highest finish in history. At the same time, the 20 athletic programs at Illinois College combined for 40 all-conference athletes, the highest total in the past six years. In 2017-18, the men's programs at Illinois College finished tied for its highest-ever finish in the MWC All-Sports Standings in fourth place and the 20 programs once again produced 40 All-MWC selections. Success in competition carried over to the classroom, where IC student-athletes combined for a cumulative G.P.A. of higher than 3.00 for the year and 128 were named to the Academic All-MWC teams. Snyder also served on the "Gameday the DIII Way" working group in conjunction with the NCAA. The 2018-19 school year provided a massive upgrade to the Bruner Center and IC's athletic facilities. A total of $1.7 million was spent on capital projects including the installation of new turf at England Stadium, the construction of new weight rooms and a cardio room, renovations to locker rooms and branding on every level of the Bruner Center. The Illinois College programs set an institutional record by having 51 student-athletes earn All-MWC honors during the year. Prior to Illinois College, Snyder was at Oberlin College, a member of the North Coast Athletic Conference, located in Oberlin, Ohio. Snyder served in a variety of progressive leadership roles, most recently as Associate Director of Athletics for Internal Operations. During his time at Oberlin, Snyder supervised and coordinated capital facility projects, negotiated sponsorships, hired and supervised coaches and managed a multi-million dollar budget across 22 varsity programs and 10 administrative departments. He has previously served as Oberlin's Assistant Athletic Director for Internal Operations, and Director of Facilities. Prior to his time at Oberlin, Snyder served as Operations Manager and Events Supervisor for Southeast Missouri State University's Show Me Center. Snyder is an active member of several professional organizations, including CEFMA. He is also active in the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), and NADIIIAA. Currently, Snyder is a part of a NCAA group for Sportsmanship and Gameday Environment called "Gameday the DIII Way" and is the NADIIIAA Executive Board Representative to the Division III FAR Advisory Group. Snyder earned a bachelor's degree in education from Bowling Green State University, and a master's degree in public administration from Southeast Missouri State. Snyder, his wife and three children reside in Jacksonville, Illinois. www.ic.edu