Seattle Pacific University continues to see changes as the athletic department said goodbye to a beloved staff member, Athletic Director of Compliance and Finance Stan McDonald, on Oct. 6.
McDonald joined the SPU athletic department after graduating from the University of Washington in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in microbiology. While science was his scholastic interest, McDonald was heavily influenced by his time as a team manager for the University of Washington football team from 2005-2010.
“I was in a group of nine or ten students that [helped] with the staffing in practices, and got to travel with the team, it was really fun. That’s when the pendulum kind of swung,” McDonald stated.
He went on to receive a postgraduate degree at Seattle University before getting an internship at SPU soon after.
McDonald’s final position with SPU was as assistant athletics director for compliance and finance which he took in January of 2023. In this role, he was in charge of many of the operational and financial policies of the athletics department.
McDonald loved seeing former students come back into the community to volunteer or work alongside him on staff. Upon leaving what has been his home for almost a decade, McDonald will miss the people he worked with the most.
Reflecting on his time at SPU, McDonald will always cherish the deep run that the SPU women’s soccer team made in 2021, reaching the national quarterfinals.
“That season was a very special season. The run that they made was impressive, traveling to Dallas Baptist and losing […] but whenever I think of memories with sports it’s more of the people; the kids I used to work with that I miss,” McDonald said.
Professor and former assistant men’s basketball coach Jarret Mentink will remember McDonald’s personality and energy.
“I had the opportunity to sit on the intercollegiate athletic committee, so I got a good chance to see his contributions to support the student athletes,” Mentink said.
Fifth-year basketball player Shaw Anderson will be sad to see McDonald go as they hold a special bond, growing up in the same part of Washington state.
“We went to rival high schools and [McDonald] would always ask me who won when they played each other in basketball,” Anderson said.
Over the last nine years, McDonald has seen the school go through major changes. The most significant change to note was the 40% cut in faculty and programs, which applied extra pressure over the last year for McDonald.
“Change inevitably is hard. There’s been a lot more work to do. There’s been a lot less people to do it. There were a lot less students to serve. It’s been frustrating in some ways,” McDonald said.
However, the changes and faculty issues surrounding SPU did not play a large role in McDonald’s decision to depart. Instead, he felt called to make a change in his vocation.
Working for Edmonds School District in a different role will be a new chapter that McDonald is looking forward to.
“I feel called to this next venture I’m going to. The commute is going to be way less, the pay is going to be better, my kids are a part of the school district, and when Beyonce’s in town, it doesn’t take me 2 hours to get to work,” McDonald said.
