Daniel Guerrero
By Vytas Mazeika
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Daniel Guerrero was named Thursday as successor to UCLA
athletics director Peter Dalis, a position he will assume on July
1.
A former Bruin baseball player, Guerrero has served as UC
Irvine’s athletics director for the past ten years, where he
was prodigious in fund-raising efforts, improved the athletic and
academic success of the student-athletes, and heightened student
involvement. Before UC Irvine, he held the same position at Cal
State Dominguez Hills.
Guerrero will be formally introduced as the new athletics
director in a press conference today at noon.
“Having the chance to return to my alma mater and lead
such a prestigious athletic program are the reasons I embrace the
opportunity,” Guerrero said in a statement.
The search for a new athletics director at UCLA began last
November when Dalis announced his retirement after 19 years in the
job.
“I am very excited to have Dan Guerrero joining us here at
UCLA,” Chancellor Albert Carnesale said. “He will be a
valuable addition to the UCLA family. His track record speaks for
itself.”
Guerrero agreed to a five-year contract with an annual salary of
$235,000, pending approval by the Regents of the University of
California. Carnesale said Guerrero was the first candidate who was
offered the position.
The other two finalists for the position were Gene Bleymaier,
the athletics director at Boise State, and Betsy Stephenson, an
associate athletics director at UCLA.
“Obviously it’s a position that I sought and
would’ve liked to have had,” Stephenson said.
“That’s not the way it worked out and I’m a loyal
member of the UCLA family and will focus on the future and move
on.”
Stephenson had not spoken with Guerrero as of late Thursday,
while Bleymaier could not be reached for comment.
Guerrero addressed his staff at UCI late Thursday afternoon.
According to track and cross country head coach Vince
O’Boyle, Guerrero said his job at UCI was done and it was
time for him to move on.
“I think he’s going to do a great job,” said
O’Boyle, who has been at UCI for 20 years. “And I
wouldn’t be just saying that. I’m pretty vocal. If I
didn’t think that, I would tell you.”
“I’d love to tell you that he did all sorts of
horrible things to keep him here,” UCI women’s water
polo head coach Julie Swail said. “But unfortunately none of
us here at UCI can say that.”
At UCI, Guerrero made strides to achieve compliance with Title
IX, adding the sports of women’s water polo, women’s
golf and women’s indoor track. He also re-introduced the
baseball program and helped move the basketball program into
prominence.
He was also the driving force behind $38 million of newly
constructed or renovated facilities ““ including the Anteater
Recreation Center.
One possible drawback to Guerrero’s hiring is the fact he
has never been in charge of a football program. So is UCLA head
coach Bob Toledo worried about this fact?
“Not really, because he’s not going to call any
plays,” Toledo said. “An athletics director hires a
football coach to run the football program, and he’s there to
give me the resources to get my job done and be positive about it.
So I think he’ll do great.”
When asked whether race played any role in the hiring of
Guerrero, who is Latino, Toledo said: “It’s like me
getting the head job. I wasn’t hired because I’m
Latino. I was hired because I’m a good football coach, and
it’s the same with him. He wasn’t hired because of his
ethnic background. He was hired because he’s the best
candidate and being Latino is nice, we both are.”
Next for the UCLA athletic department is a month-long effort to
secure a smooth transition from the Dalis to the Guerrero era.
Toledo even suggested a way to break the ice.
“We’ll make tacos together,” he said, with a
laugh.
Reports from J.P. Hoornstra and Scott Schultz, Daily Bruin
Senior Staff.