After 16 years as a coach and administrator at Gettysburg, David Wright assumed the role of Director of Athletics on June 1, 2002. Since that time, the Bullet athletic program has reached new heights in its athletic tradition, including the construction of The John F. Jaeger Center for Athletics, Recreation and Fitness which opened its doors in the fall of 2009. After spearheading a successful fundraising effort, Wright was promoted to Assistant Vice President in 2011.
A native of Goshen, N.Y., Wright joined Gettysburg in 1986 as head men’s soccer coach and assumed administrative duties as assistant director of athletics in 1990. He was promoted to associate director of athletics in 1996. Wright returned to the coaching fold as the acting head men's soccer coach for the 2010 season.
His Bullets soccer teams were 221-99-26 in 18 seasons and won three Centennial Conference championships and a pair of ECAC South Region titles. In addition, his teams appeared in the NCAA tournament in seven of his final 10 seasons and he coached four All-Americans and five CC Players of the Year. He was named Middle Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year in 1992 and was named NSCAA Middle Atlantic Region Coach of the Year three times (1991, 1993, 1997).
Wright also spent eight seasons as head coach of the men's tennis program from 1991-97. He compiled an 84-30 record during his tenure with the tennis team and led the team to a school-record 16 victories in 1991.
Administratively, Wright assists the Vice President for Enrollment and Educational Services in all areas including Communications, Marketing and Brand Strategies, and Admissions and Financial Aid modeling. He helped create the Gettysburg College Leadership Certificate, and he drives inclusivity initiatives as a licensed administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI).
Wright also provides leadership and mentoring on the Campus Emergency Response Team (CERT), the Greek Life Evaluation Team, and the Title IX and Clery Compliance Task Force. He also chairs committees pertaining to retention and student leadership development along with serving on the enrollment management committee. His professional affiliations include former chair of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division III Men’s Soccer Rankings Committee, and membership in the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA) as well as The National Clearinghouse for Leadership Programs (NCLP).
Wright is a 1982 graduate of the State University of New York (SUNY) at Cortland with a master’s degree from Brigham Young University. He was a first-team All-America soccer player at SUNY Cortland and, in 1981, was a Senior Bowl participant and nominated for the Hermann Trophy, given to the nation’s top soccer player. He was inducted into the Cortland Hall of Fame in September 2015.
Wright graduated from The George Washington University in May, 2013 with an Ed.D. degree in Higher Education Administration and wrote a dissertation on student leadership development at liberal arts colleges.
He and his wife, Cindy, are Gettysburg residents and have three daughters, all of whom attended Gettysburg: Shaina '08, Kylie '13, and Samantha '16.
