Dr. Phil Esten (@pjesten) returned to the University of St. Thomas in January 2019 as a Vice President and Director of Athletics. It's a homecoming of sorts for the 1995 alumnus, who played baseball for the Tommies during his undergraduate days, and also had extensive experience working in college athletics at the nearby University of Minnesota.

Esten is just the third individual in the last 50 years to serve as St. Thomas athletics director, following Frank Mach (1968-92) and Steve Fritz (1993-present). Fritz remains with the department in spring 2019 to assist with the transition of leadership.

"I'm excited that we are bringing a Tommie home to lead our athletics program," stated Julie Sullivan, president of St. Thomas. "I can't tell you how important it is that Phil was a St. Thomas student-athlete and that he embraces the core principles of Division III athletics: a quality student-athlete experience, academic success and athletics as an integral part of the student-athlete educational experience. He took his and bachelor's degree in corporate fitness-business from St. Thomas and used it to learn the business, operations and fundraising components of NCAA sports, while never losing sight of the student-athlete experience."

Esten brings experience from athletics leadership positions at Big Ten and PAC 12 universities. Since 2014 he has served as deputy director of athletics and chief operating officer for Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics, working closely with Sandy Barbour. He previously served the University of California, Berkley (2012-2014); the University of Minnesota (2004-2012) and The Ohio State University where he earned his master's. He earned his Ph.D. in kinesiology – sports management from the University of Minnesota.

For full bio visit: https://www.tommiesports.com/information/directory/Phil_Esten?view=bio