Ron Wuotila was named the fifth Director of Athletics and Recreation in the University of Calgary's history on June 1, 2011.
Wuotila joined the Dinos with a lengthy pedigree in post-secondary athletics in Canada and the United States, as well as significant international experience as the Head of Basketball Operations and High Performance Manager for British Basketball.
From March 2007 until taking on this role with the Dinos, Wuotila was employed by British Basketball, providing leadership and management of the British senior and under-20 men’s and women’s national teams in the lead-up to the 2012 Olympics in London. He will continue to work with British Basketball through the end of the Olympics under a flexible work arrangement agreed to by the association and the University of Calgary.
A Calgary native, Wuotila’s roots in the city’s sporting community are deep. After spending the 1993-94 season as head coach of the women’s basketball program at Mount Royal College, he took on leadership of the men’s program in 1994 and led the Cougars to their first conference championship in 16 years in 1997. He was named the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference coach of the year three times during his tenure, and he spent six months as the acting manager of athletics at Mount Royal in 1999.
In 2000 he moved to Pittsburgh, where he served as Director of Basketball Operations for three NCAA Division I schools over a three-year period – first the Robert Morris men’s program, followed by the women’s team at the University of Pittsburgh and the men’s program at Duquesne University.
Upon his return to Canada, he was hired as the full-time manager of athletics at Mount Royal, a position he held from 2003-05 where he provided overall leadership to the college’s 10 intercollegiate sports teams. In 2006 he moved to the United Kingdom, where he started as a coaching consultant for UK Sport before taking on the challenge of preparing the British national teams for their home Olympics.
He holds a Bachelor of Physical Education from the University of Calgary as well as a Master of Physical Education (Athletic Administration) from Idaho State University.
Ron and his wife Helen reside in southwest Calgary with their two children, Jack and Katie.
University of Calgary
DIRECTORS OF ATHLETICS
Dr. Dennis Kadatz (1964-84)
Dr. Robert Corran (1985-96)
Don Wilson (1998-2007)
Kevin Boyles (2008-10)
Ron Wuotila (2011-)
