Welcome the newest member of our Charger family, Dean of Kinesiology & Athletics, Colin Preston!

CYPRESS, CA – After five years as Athletic Director at El Camino College, Colin has accepted the interim Dean of Kinesiology & Athletics role at Cypress College. Originally from Modesto, CA, Colin grew up playing soccer and was an avid sports competitor. As our new Dean of Kinesiology & Athletics, Colin is ready to make an impact on our student-athletes academically and support all 14 of our athletic programs at Cypress.

1. Your experience in sports and college athletics will be a huge advantage for Cypress. Can you give us a brief timeline of your career and college past?

"I graduated from UCSB in 2006 with my Bachelor's in History and a minor in Sport Management. After college, I worked at the Academy of Art from 2007 to 2016 and held various positions over the years. I started as the Assistant Athletic Director of Operations and then was the Assistant Coach for men's and women's soccer. I was also the Assistant Athletic Director of Compliance for a year before transitioning into the Associate Athletics Director of Compliance for a short period of time. My last role of the Academy of Art lasted three years in which I was the Director of Athletics and provided administrative direction and oversight for all intercollegiate programs, facilities and activities. Before starting at Cypress, I was the Director of Athletics & Kinesiology at El Camino College for five years where I helped manage the university's 22 Intercollegiate Athletic Programs."

2. What was your best experience at El Camino College? After your diverse career and background, what is the number one thing you hope to impact Cypress Athletics?

"My best experience from El Camino was naming our football field after legendary football and beach volleyball coach John Featherstone. Unfortunately, he passed away last Saturday after battling Alzheimer's disease the past few years. That moment was incredible because we did the all-decade team from the 1970s and 1980s and that same day were naming the field after Coach Featherstone. We had hundreds of alumni back with their families and generations of football players there to commemorate his legacy. I remember how incredible it was walking through that tunnel with alumni whose names were on a plaque in the stadium. You will always remember the moments where you win games for the rest of your life but when you get to see people's lives change and impacted for the better, those are really special."

"My main goal is to assist student-athletes while helping them reach their goals both in and out of the classroom whether that's providing them the tools to succeed academically and athletically or supporting the staff. I want to ensure that at Cypress we are providing our Chargers with the best resources so they can continue pursuing their dreams and passions after they leave here. We are all one family going towards a common goal and I am excited to make an impact on our athletics department."

3. What is your biggest accomplishment in your career? What are you most proud of working in administration for college athletics?

"My biggest accomplishment in my career was going through the NCAA process at the Academy of Art and starting the athletics program from scratch. At the time, the University had no athletic facilities or a history of athletics. Although it took five years to complete the process, I am so proud of the impact I helped create at the Academy of Art for the students. The moment I'll always cherish was our first official game against San Francisco State at Kezar Stadium. We had a local high school marching band come out to play. This stadium was where the 49ers played back in the 1960s so there was a lot of historic games and events riding on this moment. We had both teams in the tunnel before the game with all our administration, coaches and student-athletes. When we all walked out during the drum roll, the Associate Athletic Director and myself were the last people to walk out and we just gave each other a big hug. We had finally brought our vision to reality. To cap it all off, we scored the game-winning goal against San Francisco State in the final 30 seconds of the game. It was so surreal and a moment I'll never forget.

I love that college athletics allow me to make personal connections with the athletes. At the community college level, you have more opportunities to understand the players and where they hope to be in the future. It's definitely one of my favorite parts of the job and makes me so proud to be working in this field of sports."

4. What do you think will be the biggest transition from El Camino and Cypress? How will your roles and responsibilities change from Director of Athletics & Kinesiology to Dean of Kinesiology and Athletics?

"I will still be doing a lot of the day-to-day activities on the Kinesiology side like assisting with scheduling. I think the experiences I had at El Camino will be a great transition to Cypress because I will have the chance to support Cypress' Athletic Director Wes McCurtis and other members of the athletics staff. I love collaborating and coming up with ideas as a group to make the Charger experience better. I think the biggest transition is realizing that I am not an Athletic Director and that this role focuses more on academics, which is an area I am really passionate about. Go Chargers!"

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