MARION, Ind. -- Mark DeMichael has been named the first full-time Athletics Director at Indiana Wesleyan University.

DeMichael has been at Indiana Wesleyan for 11 years and is currently the head baseball coach and assistant professor in the Health, Kinesiology, Recreation and Sport Studies department.

"I am very excited about this opportunity to lead Indiana Wesleyan athletics," said DeMichael. "I have been here for 11 years and I have a love and passion for Indiana Wesleyan athletics, the university and the mission they represent."

DeMichael said one of his major goals will be to unify the athletic department with a common mission.

"If we can create a common mission or goal for all of our athletic teams, it will create a sense of community. With a unified body we can invest more into the student-body, the institution and Grant County," said DeMichael. "Then nationally we can administer what Indiana Wesleyan is through excellence on the field of play. Indiana Wesleyan athletics has unlimited potential from Grant County to the national level and I want to try and fulfill that."

DeMichael said the best way to achieve the potential is through one of the strengths of the department, the coaching staff.

"Indiana Wesleyan has been blessed with unbelievable coaches," DeMichael said. "They are 100-percent committed to the university and their athletes. Our coaches are the backbone, the cogs of this wheel."

With assuming the full-time Athletics Director role, DeMichael will no longer coach baseball or teach in the classroom.

"My biggest challenge will be missing the day-to-day contact with the student-athletes," DeMichael said. "Working so closely with the student-athletes allows you to build relationships that will last a lifetime. That is very difficult to pass up as it is such a unique and special relationship to have. But in my new role I still plan on having contact with the student-athletes. To properly lead the athletics department I will need to know the pulse of the students."

DeMichael will take command of the athletic department on July 1.

Dr. Todd Voss, Executive Vice President added, "The search process was extremely competitive, but in the national search Mark not only demonstrated a clear passion for the Director role but also a deep understanding of the complexities of Intercollegiate Athletics. Mark's record of strength of character, vision and depth of understanding regarding our mission is stellar and his excitement regarding integration of Christian principles and academic excellence in athletics is contagious."

DeMichael and his wife Kimberly, who is an assistant professor of education at Indiana Wesleyan, have two daughters, Ashley and Kasey.