 | Position:
Assistant Athletics Director - Sports Performance
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Dave Vitel, who has coached at both the collegiate and NBA levels, was named assistant athletics director for sports performance at Loyola on June 13, 2011. Vitel, who served as the head strength and conditioning at Loyola from 2001-06, returns to Rogers Park after a five-year stint as the strength and conditioning coach for the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves.
For the last five years, the Elgin, Ill., native has developed and prescribed individualized training programs for each of the Timberwolves players. His efforts with Kevin Love helped transform the forward, who averaged 20.2 points and 15.2 rebounds per game in 2010-11, into an NBA All-Star in just his third season in the league. Prior to his first stint at Loyola, Vitel worked for one season as the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Chicago Bulls. He also worked for one year at the University of Arizona.
Throughout his career, Vitel has trained numerous professional athletes in the NBA, including multiple first-and-second-round NBA Draft picks such as David Lee, Omer Asik, Kyle Korver and Dan Dickau, as well as NFL and Major League Soccer players.
During his first stint at Loyola, Vitel trained David Bailey and Blake Schilb, two of the top players in Rambler men's basketball history. He was responsible for improving student-athletes' individual athletic performance with sport-specific training regimens, while also overseeing all 15 of Loyola's varsity athletics teams in their use of the weight room.
Vitel is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater where he was a four-year letterwinner in football, and he also received his master's degree from Loyola.
Vitel and his wife, Jessica, are the parents of four children, Jake, Keaton, Bennett and Alyvia.
