Rick Costello is in his 14th year as Director of Athletics at Purdue University Northwest. With more than two decades of experience in intercollegiate athletics administration, he has overseen an amazing transformation of PNW Athletics, which consists of 23 sports and 500 student-athletes. Under his leadership, the PNW Pride athletics program has soared to new heights, achieving notable milestones such as:
- Membership in NCAA Division II and the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
- 18 championships
- $43 million invested in athletic facilities
- The addition of 13 sports and over 350 student-athletes
With a background as a former student-athlete, coach, and administrator, Rick Costello has built the Pride athletic program on the following core values: respect, integrity, service, sportsmanship and excellence. His “Students First, Athletes Second” approach, has led to impressive academic achievements including an 83% graduation rate and 19 consecutive semesters with a GPA over 3.0. The program also boasts a 97% retention rate and a 82% career placement rate. The Pride have also excelled in the community volunteering over 3,000 hours with charities including Make-A-Wish Foundation, Special Olympics, American Heart Association and Team Impact.
Under Costello’s leadership PNW has developed new and renovated athletic and recreation facilities, including Dowling Park, a venue for softball, baseball, soccer and tennis; the Dworkin Student Services and Activity Center for basketball and volleyball; the Lalaeff & Fischer Golf Training Center; an athletic training and physical therapy center; the Graegin Academic Excellence Center; and two Fitness Centers.
Costello has been a key fundraiser at PNW, launching the Corporate Champions program to engage national and local companies in the support of Pride athletics. Major partnerships include Pepsi, Laborers Local 41, Rush Physical Therapy, and Purdue Federal Credit Union. He has spearheaded successful fundraising events such as PNW Day of Giving, the Powers-PNW Golf Tournament and the Chancellor’s Golf Outing. Costello has also directed strategic events to engage the community including Sports Fest, Late Night Madness, and the Mane Event.
Rick Costello serves on the NCAA DII Men’s Basketball Committee and the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference Finance and Men’s Basketball Committees. He also hosts PNW Athletics Today, streamed monthly on JEDtv.com. Costello offers more than a decade of NCAA DI administrative experience. He came to Purdue Northwest from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he served as the Director of Athletics. In addition, he served as Deputy Director of Athletics at Rutgers University, Director of Athletics at Delaware State University, Associate Athletic Director at the University of South Florida and Assistant Athletic Director at San Jose State University. He also served as men’s assistant basketball coach at Lehigh University during the 1990's. A first-generation college graduate, Rick Costello earned a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Lehigh University and a Bachelors in Accounting from Muhlenberg College.
Rick and Amy Costello are the proud parents of Kelsea, Lauren, Ryan and Lindsey.
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