HONORS

• 2022 NAIA Administrator of the Year

Steve Waldeck returned to his alma mater in the Fall of 2011 and just completed his 11th year as an athletic administrator at The Master’s University in 2021-22. 

Selected by his peers as the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) Athletic Director of the Year in both 2015-16 and 2016-17, Waldeck currently represents the GSAC on the National Administrative Council (NAC), which establishes policies and procedures for the NAIA. His other involvement includes serving on the NAIA Men's Soccer National Championsip selection committee.

The Master’s University has continued a tradition of quality athletics under Waldeck’s leadership. In 2015-16, the Mustangs achieved their program best Director’s Cup standing by finishing 24^th, garnering a position in the top 10% of NAIA athletic programs.  The Mustangs five best years of Director’s Cup finishes have each occurred during Waldeck’s tenure.

Previously, Steve served in a variety of roles during a 13-year stint at Central Washington University, most of which were as the Director of University Recreation. He led the exponential growth of the department by establishing the building blocks for a successful, full scale University Recreation program, which has proven to be on par with the best collegiate recreation programs in the Northwest. A significant part of that growth was the maturing of the Collegiate Sport Club program which expanded from three teams to 25 thriving clubs during that time span.

An anchor achievement was the opportunity to take a lead role in the feasibility study and business planning for the development of an $18 million, 80,000 sq. ft. Recreation Center, which is a component of the larger $56 million, 230,000 sq. ft. Student Union & Recreation Center complex. After the doors opened in 2006, the Student Union & Recreation Center garnered two nationally recognized awards, the Outstanding Sports Facilities from the National Intramural Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) and a Facility of Merit award from the Association of College Unions International (ACUI).

For 25 years, Steve’s professional experiences and personal interests have included a variety of athletic, sporting, and recreational administration within the setting of higher education. Throughout his career, Waldeck has fostered an environment for teamwork, communication, and leadership development, while recognizing that an organization’s strength is found when a team of people partner to share both the responsibility and accomplishments.

Steve is married to his wife, Glory, and together they have been blessed with four sons, Riley, Derek, Caleb, and Bodey. Each of their sons is involved in athletics, as two played college soccer, one is currently playing college basketball, while the youngest is a two-sport athlete with the Special Olympics of Southern California.