Tanya Vogel was named the assistant director of athletics development today, after announcing her retirement as head coach of the women’s soccer program in November.
Vogel will focus on annual giving for the athletics department. She’ll report to newly hired Scarlett Schmidt, the senior executive director of athletics development and associate athletic director.
“I’m honored to continue to serve George Washington University in this new capacity,” Vogel said. “This University has been a major part of my life for the last 19 years, so there is no better career move for me than to a position in which I can dedicate myself to fundraising and giving to a University that has already given me so much. I am incredibly eager for this opportunity to work under Scarlett, and to remain so closely tied to the athletics department and GW as a whole.”
Vogel took the reins of the Colonials in January 2000, hired to a program that won just three games during the 1999 series. She’s posted 82 victories while at the helm of the team, including back-to-back 10-plus win seasons in 2002 and 2003. During her tenure as head coach, Vogel mentored 12 all-conference performers, and saw the team win its first GW Women’s Team Academic Excellence Award and earn recognition from the NSCAA with the College Team Academic Award in 2010.
Vogel also competed for the Colonials for four years, and was a member of the school’s most successful season in 1996, when the GW earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament, and served as team captain her junior and senior seasons. Vogel ranks sixth all-time at GW in scoring with 52 points, and was the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team in 1996.
“As I have just recently started my tenure at George Washington, to have someone to work alongside me who is as talented, driven and loyal to this University as Tanya is, really sets up the athletics development office for great success,” Schmidt said. “Her considerable passion and well-earned reputation makes Tanya the ideal person to serve as Assistant Director of Athletics Development.”
In their new roles, Schmidt and Vogel will be called upon to help build long-term financial support for the 22 intercollegiate sports teams, the club sports programs, and the Lerner Health and Wellness Center. Under the direction of Director of Athletics and Recreation Patrick Nero and Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations Mike Morsberger, the goal of the new department is to boost philanthropy, enabling GW to fund and support its athletics programs at the same level as top-tier universities.
“Tanya has developed an extraordinary rapport with her colleagues not only within the Athletic Department but across campus,” Nero said. “This opportunity is a strong fit for her, and I am certain she will thrive in this role. It is paramount to the long-term success and financial health of our intercollegiate sports, club sports, and the Lerner Health and Wellness Center that this new Athletics Development office operates at maximum productivity and efficiency. Tanya’s hire will help to ensure that happens.”
There is also a nationwide search underway for an associate director for the newly-formed athletics development branch of the Department of Athletics and Recreation.
