Westminster College Athletics

Jim Dafler was a member of the Titan Athletics staff for 32 years, including 22 as the Director of Athletics. Under his leadership and guidance, Westminster became a landing spot for student-athletes all across the country to come and compete at world-class facilities. Dafler helped lead the construction and renovations of state-of-the-art facilities to further enhance the student-athlete experience and to provide as many opportunities as possible for all Titans to succeed. These top-level facilities include the UPMC Sports Complex, the Westminster Softball Field, the Westminster Baseball Field, and the Bill Rankin Indoor Golf Center. Dafler led the charge of adding four new varsity sport programs, including women's golf, women's track & field, men's lacrosse, and women's lacrosse – and the reestablishment of the diving program. He also assisted in the transition of Westminster's move from NAIA to NCAA Division II to NCAA Division III. Additionally, Dafler oversaw multiple renovations and improvements to Harold Burry Stadium and to the Memorial Field House (including the football locker room expansion and renovation, the Chet and Hilda Claire Student-Athlete Lounge, and the Dar Huey Heritage Center). During Dafler's tenure at Westminster, teams, student-athletes, and coaches have been recognized regionally and nationally, including numerous All-Americans, conference players of the year, scholar-athletes, conference championships, coaches of the year, and all-conference players. Dafler joined Westminster in 1989 as an assistant coach for the men's basketball team, later being promoted as the head coach, and became the Director of Athletics in 1999. During his coaching tenure, Dafler helped Westminster win five Keystone-Empire Collegiate Conference (KECC) titles and two NAIA Division I National Playoff appearances. For his entire head coaching career, Dafler was just four wins away from 200.