The Seattle University athletic department recently appointed Alex Romagnolo as the new Associate Athletic Director. Athletic Director Shaney Fink made the announcement Monday, Feb. 26.

Romagnolo arrived at Seattle University with an impressive athletic background. He played four years of college soccer at the University of San Diego from 1999-2002 where he helped his team to two West Coast Conference titles, along with four NCAA tournament appearances.

Romagnolo expressed his willingness to provide resources for the athletic department at Seattle U.

“I had a great experience as a student athlete at the University of San Diego playing soccer there, and when I graduated trying to figure out what I wanted to do, I wanted to make sure that I could provide that same type of experience to the current student athletes. One of the main reasons that I go into the development side is because I saw that you could make a big impact and you could raise the funds that would have those types of impacts on our student athletes and provide them with the resources that they need to not only compete, but also what they need in the classroom.”

Romagnolo joined the California Bears athletic department in 2007 where he was the Assistant Director of Ticket Sales. He held the position until 2011. In 2014, he would shift his attention back to collegiate sports where he accepted the position of Director of Rockne Athletic Funds at Notre Dame. He held this position until coming to Seattle U.

There are many similarities and differences between the schools that influenced Romagnolo’s decision to come to Seattle U.

“One of the reasons that attracted me to Seattle U was that it didn’t have that big football presence, so we could focus more on the Olympic sports and some of the other sports that don’t get support and attention that they deserve. At Notre Dame, the biggest similarities that I see are the Catholic institutions and their desire to educate the whole person. What I really loved about Notre Dame was some of the stuff that the student athletes did in the community: giving back. And I’ve seen a lot of that here at Seattle U.”

So far, Romagnolo has enjoyed his experience at Seattle U.

“It’s been great, everybody has been so welcoming and so friendly. The thing that I love about the University too is that it’s very open and people are very welcoming where you can go in and talk to coaches and have discussions, and it doesn’t take weeks to get on their calendars.”

Caylah may be reached at
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