Ron Strollo Position: Director of Athletics Institution: Youngstown State University

Ron Strollo, a former Penguin student-athlete, is in his eighth year as Athletics Director and 13th as a member of the department.

Strollo has concentrated his priorities on facility improvements; full compliance of NCAA rules and regulations; fiscal management and sound budgetary maintenance; functioning and streamlining department organization; increasing visibility of the Penguin Club while also expanding the overall fundraising efforts; all while enhancing the overall experience and competitiveness of all student-athletes and programs.

Outside of his YSU duties, Strollo has been busy representing the University, Horizon League and the Gateway on national committees. He just completed a four year term with the NCAA Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet in 2007-08. He also represents the Missouri Valley Conference on the Football Regional Rankings Committee.

Strollo returned to his alma mater in 1996 as athletic business manager. In March 2000, he was named the school's Associate Executive Director of Athletics. In his short time in that capacity, he helped spearhead the transition into the Horizon League. He was named the school's 11th athletic director in 2001.

Before joining the athletic department, Strollo spent three years as an accountant for Hill, Barth, & King, Inc. in Youngstown while successfully attaining his CPA certification.

He has strong ties to the local community and to the athletic department. He grew up in nearby Austintown and attended Fitch High School. He played football for YSU from 1988 through 1991 for Coach Jim Tressel and was named captain of the first Division I-AA National Championship team in 1991. He earned his bachelor's degree in accounting from Youngstown State in June, 1993.

A key volunteer in the Stambaugh Stadium expansion project in 1997, he is a member of the Mahoning County American Red Cross Board of Directors, the Salvation Army Advisory Board, and the Western Reserve Health Foundation.

Ron and his wife, Nicole, who is an OB/GYN nurse practitioner, reside in Austintown with their two children, Ryan and Rachel. Nicole is a former YSU student-athlete who competed in track and cross country from 1989 through 1993.