BREAKING NEWS

Bob Chichester, UC Irvine’s athletic director for the past five years, has announced that he will resign. He will stay on until August.

“After much thought, reflection and consideration with my family, I have made this decision for personal and professional reasons,” he said in a news release.

Chichester, who is in Texas to watch UC Irvine’s baseball team, was named UCI’s athletic director in September 2002 after serving three years as senior associate athletic director at the University of Colorado.

He also held positions at Colorado as associate athletic director for administration and academic affairs, and associate university counsel.

He took over for Bob Guerrero, who resigned to take the same position at UCLA.

He has overseen an athletic program that collected its first NCAA men’s volleyball national championship this year.

This spring, in addition to men’s volleyball, the baseball team opens NCAA Regional play on Friday, women’s golf advanced to the NCAA Finals, men’s golf competed in the NCAA West Regional, women’s tennis made its first NCAA Tournament appearance, eight student-athletes competed at the NCAA Track and Field West Regional and the women’s sailing team finished sixth at the national championship.

During his tenure, facilities’ enhancements for UCI Athletics have included construction of the $2.4-million Newkirk Pavilion as Phase II at Anteater Ballpark. Academically, 843 UCI student-athletes have been honored as Big West Scholar-Athletes over the past five years.