DE PERE – St. Norbert College athletics director Tim Bald has announced his retirement, effective June 1.
Bald has spent 17 years as the St. Norbert athletics director, starting in July 2004.
During his tenure, the Green Knights have won 78 conference championships and qualified for 63 NCAA Division III tournaments, which includes five national championships.
Student-athletes also captured four individual NCAA Division III championships and claimed 49 CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
“When I came to campus for my interviews in spring 2004, I realized what a special place St. Norbert College is,” Bald said. “It’s special because of the administration, faculty, staff and students. I appreciate my career overlapped with the presidency of Tom Kunkel, who changed the landscape of the campus. I know St. Norbert athletics will continue to flourish under the leadership of President Dr. Brian Bruess, Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Jenn Bonds-Raacke and our coaches and student-athletes.”
Bald, who turns 63 in February, has seen the total of student-athletes competing at the start of his tenure rise from about 400 to more than 500 currently.
St. Norbert has added four sports in that time: Women’s hockey (2010-11), men’s and women’s swimming and diving (2018-19) and men’s volleyball (2020).
The college opened Donald J. Schneider Stadium in 2010, a refurbished Mel Nicks Sports Complex in 2015 and a reimagined Mulva Family Fitness and Sports Center in 2017.
“Student-athletes, coaches, faculty and staff will greatly miss Tim,” Bonds-Raacke said. “Tim has been a strong advocate for athletics during his tenure and his dedication to St. Norbert is unquestionable.”
St. Norbert captured 12 Midwest Conference All-Sports Trophies under Bald, eight women and four men.
The Green Knights also had 10 top 100 finishes in the Division III Directors’ Cup standings over 11 years from 2006-07 to 2016-17.
Highlights include winning a then-record 202 games in 2009-10 with a conference winning percentage of 86 percent, all 20 sports finishing in the top four of the conference standings in 2013-14, seven Midwest Conference titles in 2014-15 – the Green Knights’ most in 27 years – and a school-record eight NCAA Division III Tournament appearances in 2016-17.
Bonds-Raacke said a search will begin when the position is posted in February.