SAN DIEGO -- San Diego State Director of Athletics John David Wicker has announced the hiring of Bob Moosbrugger as Executive Associate Athletic Director for Development.
Aztec athletics welcomes back Moosbrugger at this transformative moment in the history of San Diego State when a high level of strategic leadership is needed for the fundraising efforts related to campus expansion, the new landscape of college athletics, and an upcoming facilities improvement campaign – all of which will play a critical role in our overall success as a department and a university.
"Based on our immediate need for experience and excellence in the areas of executive level leadership, capital project fundraising, and innovative fundraising strategies, I am thrilled to announce that Bob is returning to The Mesa," said Wicker. "He has over 20 years of fundraising experience in college athletics, including six years at the highest level of leadership as an AD. He has extensive experience leading fundraising campaigns for athletics facility construction projects, as well as scholarships for student-athletes and special projects. Plus, he has relationships in San Diego he has cultivated for the last 20 years. We're excited to have him back."
Coming off a six-year stint as the Director of Athletics and Recreation at his alma mater Bowling Green, Moosbrugger will step back into a development role with SDSU athletics as the lead development officer for the department. With many years of experience on the external side of the business, he has a track record of cultivating high-dollar revenue-generating partnerships with various external partners and stakeholders. Moosbrugger will work closely with campus partners within University Relations and Development and the other revenue generation units of SDSU athletics to maximize funding opportunities for the department.
"Nearly 15 years of my life has been invested in San Diego State, and I could not be happier to help move SDSU athletics forward," said Moosbrugger. "I am excited to partner with President Adela de la Torre, John David Wicker, university leadership, athletics staff/coaches, student-athletes and fans during this critical time for SDSU. Let's go Aztecs!"
In his last year at Bowling Green, Moosbrugger led a team that raised over $4.5 million, seeing a record number of both scholarship dollars raised and number of donors in his time there. BGSU athletics also saw success in the classroom under his leadership, where in 2022, BGSU student-athletes had the highest cumulative GPA (3.44) in school history. BGSU captured six championships in 2020-21, its most in one year since 1982-83.
During his previous tenure with SDSU as Deputy Director of Athletics/Chief Operating Officer, he managed several units and acted as the sport administrator for Aztec football and men's basketball. In his development role, he led a fundraising team that raised over $78 million for the University. He started at San Diego State in March of 2000, beginning as the assistant director for the Aztec Athletic Foundation. He was promoted to assistant athletic director/director of the Aztec Foundation in 2004. From there, he was named the Director of Business Development at the San Diego International Sports Council, serving from February 2006 until September 2007, before returning to the Aztecs as Associate Athletic Director for Development.
Prior to his time at San Diego State, Moosbrugger was an assistant ticket manager and athletic ticket manager at Fresno State from 1996-2000. He was an intern/graduate assistant at Ball State from 1994-96.
A baseball student-athlete at Bowling Green, Moosbrugger earned the team's Don Woods Award as the top freshman in 1991 and was a two-year letter winner. Moosbrugger is a native of Celina, Ohio.
Bob and his wife, Esther, have two sons, Andrew and Vincent.
Last month, Curt Apsey, current Executive Associate AD for Development, decided that he would be retiring from San Diego State. Moosbrugger (first day March 6) and Apsey will work together until Apsey's retirement later this spring.
