Dr. Michael Vienna has been
at Salisbury University since 1989. He was appointed
director of Athletics on May 1, 1993, after
previously serving as the University's associate
director of Athletics. In 2003, he added duties as
the director of the University's Campus Recreation
program which provides recreational opportunities
for over 7,500 students, plus faculty and staff.
Since becoming its athletics director, Salisbury has
finished in the top 25 (out of over 435
institutions) for eight of the 13 years that the
Directors' Cup has been in existence. This award is
presented annually to the nation's best overall
collegiate athletics programs by division based upon
success in post-season national tournaments.
During Vienna's tenure, the
athletics program arguably has had the most
successful era in school history. Sea Gull teams
have combined for an overall winning percentage of
69 percent, garnering 11 national championships,
seven national second place finishes, 113 conference
championships and nine conference All-Sports awards.
Every varsity sport has been represented at a
national tournament during this time, and the
program has produced 250 All-Americans.
Most importantly has been
the academic success of Salisbury's
student-athletes. Annually over 50 percent of
Salisbury's student-athletes have earned grade point
averages of 3.0 or higher. Sea Gull teams often rank
among the leaders in national team grade point
averages and have produced numerous academic
All-Americans. When Sea Gull student-athletes are
compared to the rest of the University's student
body, student-athletes perform as well or better in
many important academic categories. The most
impressive academic achievement has been that
student-athletes have had a significantly higher
graduation rate than the rest of the Salisbury
University student body and this is noteworthy as
Salisbury consistently has the best graduation rate
in the entire University System of Maryland.
The athletics program also
has seen vast capital improvements, significant
staffing increases and the addition of four varsity
sports during Vienna's tenure. Facility improvements
have included two new soccer fields; Maggs Physical
Activities Center addition; acquisition of the
indoor tennis center, a new weight room and office
space; new scoreboards at all athletics venues; and
most recently, the new artificial turf field and
lights at Sea Gull Stadium. Vienna has also
spearheaded the renovation of five additional
outdoor fields, the Maggs Physical Activities Center
main gym and weight rooms, outdoor running track,
the swimming pool, and both the outdoor and indoor
tennis courts. In 2008, he was selected to help
manage and run the new University Fitness Club,
located next to the SU Indoor Tennis Courts.
At Salisbury, Vienna
established the Varsity Club as a comprehensive
fundraising organization to support Sea Gull
Athletics. He initiated and has taught the NCAA
CHAMPS/Life Skills Program and helped the
institution secure a $30,000 NCAA Choices grant. He
has also served as both the interim vice president
for student affairs, the acting University judicial
administrator and an adjunct professor.
A member of the National
Association of Collegiate Director's of Athletics
(NACDA) since 1985, Vienna has served 24 years as a
college athletics administrator. He has been a
member of the National Association of Division III
Athletic Administrators since 1996 and currently
serves on its national executive board. He served as
president and vice president of the Capital Athletic
Conference from 1997-2001 and has been the
conference treasurer since 2004. He is past
secretary/treasurer of the Maryland Association of
Collegiate Directors of Athletics, of which he has
been a member since 1989.
Vienna has been a member of the Athletic Central
Football Conference Board of Directors since 1998,
serving as its treasurer since 2001. He has been a
member of the Athletic Management magazine
editorial board since 1997. He also has served on
several committees including the NCAA national
committee for men's soccer and NCAA regional
committee for men's basketball.
He has published several
articles on sport management and made numerous
professional presentations. He has been awarded the
2007 NACDA Athletic Director of the Year for
Division III's southeast region, the Wicomico County
Tourism Person of the Year and the Salisbury
University Presidential Appreciation Award.
In addition to working at
Salisbury University, he has experience as a head
basketball and golf coach and athletic director at
the two-year college level, assistant soccer coach
at both the Division I and III levels, a physical
education instructor, worked in the front office of
the Cleveland Force of the Professional Indoor
Soccer League, interned and worked with the
Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA, and worked both in
the sporting goods and health club industries.
He earned his undergraduate degree from Mount Union
College and his master's and Ph.D. from Kent State
University. At Mount Union he was a four-year
starter on the soccer team where he earned
all-conference, all-state, team MVP and team captain
accolades.
A native of Belfast, NY,
Vienna is a member of the Allegany County Sports
Hall of Fame. He and his wife Janine have two grown
daughters, Ashley and Jacquelyn.
