HPU Sports Hires Baldemor
Vince Baldemor is to be Hawaii Pacific University’s ninth executive director of athletics, the school announced, and he will oversee 14 intercollegiate sports and campus recreation programs.
Baldemor succeeds Darren Vorderbruegge, who will focus solely on leading the basketball program as head coach. He will work closely with Baldemor, according to President Geoffrey Bannister, who noted that the pair “will be essential in defining Sea Warrior success in the coming years.”
HPU is part of the Pacific West Conference, which has 13 member campuses, including Chaminade, BYU Hawaii and University of Hawaii-Hilo. Now in its 36th year of offering inter-collegiate athletics, HPU student athletes have won five national titles, including women’s volleyball, men’s basketball and softball. HPU is currently the state’s largest private university.
“My family and I are honored and privileged to become Sea Warriors and to serve the Hawaii Pacific University community,” said Baldemor. “I am excited about the vision that President Bannister and the Board of Trustees have laid out, and I look forward to working with the entire athletics department to continue the great tradition of success in the classroom and on the field of play.”
“Vord’s success as athletics director, which has included two PacWest Commissioner’s Cup Championships recognizing the conference’s most successful athletics program, made the decision a difficult one for him to make,” Bannister noted about Vorderbruegge.
“In choosing to serve solely as men’s basketball coach, he will have the opportunity to build on a nearly three-decade career at the college and high school levels that has taken him to the NCAA Division II tournament multiple times.”
Baldemor, meanwhile, worked most recently as executive director of Ahahui Koa Anuenue, the nonprofit fundraising partner for UH Athletics. He had held that post since 2003 and was promoted to president in 2005. He served on the department’s leadership team and gave support and collaboration to all areas of intercollegiate athletics and strategic planning. During his term, the group raised $70 million via ticketing, booster clubs and other annual programs.
He oversaw fundraising that boosted athletics endowments to $5 million and solidified a planned giving program that now has more than $14 million in bequests. He redeveloped the preferred seating and parking program, creating VIP courtside seats for arena sports. He also managed the unification of 14 booster clubs, key anniversary fundraiser, and the coordination and planning for the 2007 Sugar Bowl.
“Vince brings with him a great combination of collegiate and professional athletic experiences, a track record of success in fundraising and business development, effective communication and leaderships skills and strong community relationships in Hawaii,” said Bannister. “All of these traits are exactly what we need to elevate HPU athletics and engage the broader community.”
Baldemor is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of America and the National Association of Athletic Development Directors and also was in NCAA Leadership Institute for Minority Males. His community involvement is through Pacific Century Fellows, FBI Citizen’s Academy and the NFL Pro Bowl Host Committee.
He has a commerce degree from De Paul University and an MBA from Notre Dame. He played Division I tennis for De Paul, and was Ohio state tennis champion for his high school. Prior to UH, he worked with the Chicago Bulls, International Management Group and the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy.
Baldemor and wife Lisa Anne have three children.
