Retiring Dale Vos reflects on 32 years as SC4 athletic director

PORT HURON — There aren't any more games on the schedule for Dale Vos. All that's left is a well-earned retirement.

Almost 32 years to the day it began, Vos' tenure as athletic director at St. Clair County Community College ended Tuesday, Dec. 30.

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"You just decide it's time to do something else," said Vos, who also coached SC4's men's basketball team from 1991-92 through 2020-21. "It just felt like time ... I was 25 years old when I got here (in 1991). Didn't know much about Port Huron. Didn't know much about SC4. Didn't really know what I was doing. I was coming here to coach basketball, win a bunch of games and find another job — and it turned into a lifetime.

"It turned into a full-time position. It turned into meeting my wife, who's a Port Huron native. It turned into family … my kids all got degrees from SC4. They all, at different points in their lives, got a paycheck from SC4 — whether that was as a student worker or as a career. So, it's been pretty special."

MORE: Longtime SC4 men's basketball coach Dale Vos inducted into BCAM Hall of Fame

When Vos took over as athletic director on Jan. 1, 1994, the department was still recovering from a four-year hiatus that occurred a decade prior. Due to budget issues, SC4 dropped athletics entirely from 1982 to 1986.

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"The comeback was difficult," Vos said. "It was definitely a different time. When I was first started, we had five sports — men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball and golf ... (but those early years) were fun. Me, the coaches, the student athletes, we just dug in."

In 1995, the women's basketball team finished as the NJCAA runner-up in Division II. Three years later, the women's volleyball program debuted, and went on to win DII national championships in 2000 and 2004.

"Those things started to bring some momentum back," said Vos, who was voted the Michigan Community College Athletic Association Athletic Director of the Year in 1997. "So, I think that stretch from '95 to the early 2000s at least gave us that momentum to say, 'Hey, wait a minute. We can be successful in this.'"

Success extended beyond wins and losses, particularly in 2016, when SC4 purchased the former McMorran Pavilion in downtown Port Huron. A year later, following multiple phases of renovation, the building reopened as SC4 Fieldhouse.

Since then, it has become the premier basketball and volleyball facility in St. Clair County. In addition to SC4 athletic events, the Fieldhouse routinely hosts MHSAA tournament games for basketball and volleyball. It was also home to the NJCAA DII Women's Basketball Championship in 2022 and 2023.

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When the complex first opened its doors, SC4 had eight sports. Now, the college has 20.

"It was a catalyst," Vos said of the Fieldhouse. "It didn't have to lead to additional sports (to be successful) … we really didn't add sports that play in the Fieldhouse. But the fact that we had that facility and proved that it could be the (go-to venue) in the area ... I think that led people to say, 'Hey, this is pretty cool. Can we expand on this?' I think that's where (the other the sports) come in."

On Tuesday, Vos' final day on the job, SC4 Fieldhouse was hosting the annual Skippers Showcase — a two-day event that features 18 high school basketball games.

Vos was busy making sure everything ran accordingly. But whenever someone stopped to congratulate him on retirement, he made time to speak with them.

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"It's always been about relationships," Vos said. "That's what makes the whole thing work, and that's what I'll miss."

When asked what he's most proud of from the past 32 years, athletic achievements and amenities were quickly forgotten.

"It's the student-athletes," Vos said. "The success stories from the kids is why we do this ... it's the student-athletes, and when we find out about their careers, their lives, their kids — what they've become."

Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@gannett.com. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @BrendenWelper.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Vos reflects on 32-year run as St. Clair County Community College AD