Athletic director at UCI resigns

ROUND ROCK, Texas — Bob Chichester, whose five-year tenure as UC Irvine athletic director has included some unprecedented success, announced Thursday he would resign at the end of August.

Chichester cited the death of his father, James Robert Chichester, on Saturday, as well as the escalating challenge of trying to remain competitive in the athletic arena with UCI’s diminishing financial resources, as reasons for his decision.

“My father played a really big role in my life, and he was probably my closest friend,” said Chichester, reached by phone in Round Rock, Texas, where he is on hand to see the baseball team compete in an NCAA regional playoff tournament. “I was heavily influenced by him, and, fortunately, I was able to spend some time with him before he died. That really caused me to evaluate a lot of things about myself and my family. I went through a divorce two years ago, and that was tough.”

Chichester said his mother moved from California to Atlanta a little more than a year ago to live with his sister. He said moving closer to them, as well as other family in Ohio, has weighed heavily on his mind.

A string of budget cuts has also created a different environment from the one that existed when he took the job five years ago, he said.

“I think the department staff, like myself, have been concerned about the financial support of the department for quite a while now,” Chichester said. “And there’s a big concern for the future.”

UCI Chancellor Michael V. Drake said a national search to find a replacement will be launched and an interim athletic director will be named soon.

Under Chichester’s supervision, UCI won its first NCAA men’s volleyball title May 5 and has captured 11 Big West Conference championships. Men’s and women’s golf, men’s swimming and diving, men’s volleyball and women’s tennis all earned conference titles, while these and other programs took part in NCAA postseason competition.

Chichester said he is also proud to have improved facilities, most notably — with record fundraising efforts coordinated by former associate athletic director Torre Chisholm — the construction of the $2.4-million Newkirk Pavilion that houses a clubhouse and coaches offices for the baseball team.

But Chichester said personal relationships, with coaches, staff and student-athletes, are what he’ll remember most about his tenure in Irvine.

“I hope the people I’ve worked with will look at me in the future as their friend and not necessarily their former boss,” said Chichester, who received a standing ovation when announcing his decision to the athletic department staff Tuesday.

“That went right to my heart,” Chichester said.

Chichester was named director of athletics and recreation in September 2002 after serving three years as senior associate athletic director at the University of Colorado.

Chichester, the first African-American to serve as athletic director at UCI, said he would like to remain in athletic administration.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at [email protected].