Mount Pleasant Magazine Sept/Oct 2019

60 www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.BestOfMP.com | www.ReadMPM.com feature Name : Mike Capaccio Occupation : Director of Athletics The Citadel Began as AD — Aug. 15, 2018 Born : Dec. 17, 1957; Chicago, IL Alma Mater : University of Mary (North Dakota) ‘81 Chicago native Mike Capaccio was named The Citadel’s 13th director of athletics on Aug. 15, 2018 after serving as the interim AD when former AD Jim Senter left for the University of Texas-El Paso. The college announced Capaccio’s selection after a search that included more than 100 applicants. Capaccio had been employed for six years as the college’s executive vice president for athletic fundraising, working out of The Citadel Foundation and overseeing The Citadel Brigadier Foundation, which raises funds for athletic scholarships. He also oversaw fundraising activities for athletic facilities, in addition to sport-specific support groups such as the Citadel Football Association, the Diamond Dogs Club and Citadel Basketball Association, among others. During his tenure leading The Citadel’s athletic fundraising and development endeavors, the college increased the number of endowed scholarships from eight to 41 and substantially increased overall giving to unprecedented heights in the school’s athletic history. Among his biggest challenges today are to help complete the rebuilding of historic Johnson Hagood Stadium, the Bulldogs’ storied football facility, and to keep the cadets competitive in the fields of play within in a very good Southern Conference. Capaccio stated that The Citadel has raised about $19 million toward a goal of $50 million for an athletic department endowment. Most of the annual cash flow eventually produced by the endowment will go toward the scholarship bill, which is about $4 million annually. “Our future is the endowment,” he said. “Our goal for (the last) campaign was $15 million, and we are at about $19 million. We need to get to $50 million, and that’s what I’m working on now. The good news is that our foundation board is putting more emphasis on athletic fundraising.” Capaccio earned his bachelor’s degree in secondary education from the University of Mary in 1981 and received his master’s degree in education from Drake University. He came to The Citadel after serving as the CEO of the Brunswick Community College (North Carolina) Foundation, having spent the previous two years as the school’s director of development. Prior to joining the staff at Brunswick, Capaccio spent eight years in various capacities at UNC Wilmington, including three as the director of athletics from October 2004 through May 2007. He was also the director of athletic development at the school from 2002-2006. The 6-foot-5 Capaccio played Division II basketball at the University of Mary (North Dakota) and coached Indian Hills Community College (Iowa) to three straight junior college national championships. Photo courtesy of Mike Cappaccio.