Kulwant Singh named new Central Valley Conference commissioner

CUPERTINO - Retiring Central Valley Conference commissioner Susan Yates has announced the hiring of longtime De Anza College athletic director Kulwant Singh as the CVC's new commissioner, starting on July 1.

"I'm leaving the conference in good hands," said Yates on passing the torch to Singh. "He's going to take the CVC to new heights. His involvement at the state and national associations will bring some new energy to the conference."

Yates is stepping down as commissioner after a 46-year career in athletics. She served as CVC commissioner for the past four years and prior to her work with the conference was athletic director at Fresno City College and Clovis Community College.

The timing for Singh worked out perfectly as he was set to retire from his position at De Anza in mid-August. Singh spent the last 17 years as athletic director at De Anza that came after a 17-year hall of fame soccer coaching career.

"I am humbled and honored to have been selected as the Central Valley Conference commissioner," said Singh. "I look forward to giving 100 percent effort to this position. I have big shoes to fill as Susan Yates retires from this role."

Singh is highly-regarded administrator not only at the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) but national level as well.

In 2020, Singh was announced as the L. William Miller Award winner by the National Alliance of Two-Year College Athletic Administrators. The award, named after NATYCAA's first president, is a prestigious honor – recognizing a member of organization who demonstrates excellence in leadership, service and integrity in an athletic program at a two-year college or organization.

In March of 2016, Singh was selected as a National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Junior/Community College Under Armour Regional Athletics Director of the Year. He is currently an executive committee member of NATYCAA (former president, 2015-16) and also a past member of the NACDA executive committee.

Over his career, Singh has been one of the most active leaders in the community college ranks. He currently serves as past-president of the California Community College Athletic Directors Association (CCCADA) and spent 12 years on the CCCAA Management Council. Singh has also served various roles as member of state committees on policy, fall festival, competition, diversity & inclusion, and social media.

Under Singh's leadership, De Anza has enjoyed unprecedented success in the highly-regarded Coast Conference, claiming the All-Sports Championship Trophy for supremacy the last 12 years. All totaled, De Anza has captured the trophy 25 out of the past 35 years, staking claim as one of the premier community colleges in the Golden State.

Singh is equally proud of the De Anza's success in academics, transferring student-athletes to four-year institutions across the country – and averaging 3.0 GPAs as an athletic department. This also exemplifies De Anza's status as being "Tops In Transfer" among all California two-year colleges.

Prior to his career as athletic director, Singh had a successful tenure as a soccer coach. Few can match Singh's CCCAA coaching accomplishments – highlighted by four state championships and 15 conference titles.

In 1994, Singh made history, coaching both the De Anza men's and women's soccer teams to state championships victories on the same day. He was inducted into the California Community College Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2011 and was named Community College National Coach of the Year twice (1993, 1995).

"I am a product of the community college system," said Singh. "I started my college career as a student-athlete at Chabot College. I have worked at De Anza College for 31 years, and, for the past 17 years, I have had the privilege to serve as athletics director. These experiences have prepared me to be a commissioner. I want to keep developing personally and professionally. I also want to give back to help the conference continue to be well regarded and increase its profile."

Singh says he has many ideas for the future of the CVC. During his first 100 days, he plans to visit each campus to meet with athletic directors and college presidents as well as many people as possible in the various athletic departments to gain feedback.

The Central Valley Conference is comprised of 10 member colleges, including Clovis Community College, Columbia College, Fresno City College, Merced College, Porterville College, Reedley College, College of the Sequoias, Taft College, West Hills College Coalinga, and West Hills College Lemoore.

(Chris Ruiz, Central Valley Conference)