Cal U grad Dountas working for Stanford
Bill Hughes
California University of Pa. graduate Chris Dountas works on a Cardinal football helmet at Stanford University. Dountas was hired in May of 2016 as Stanford蘑菇视频 assistant athletics director-equipment manager.
California University of Pa. graduate Chris Dountas buffs up a Cardinal football trophy at Stanford University. Dountas was hired in May of 2016 as Stanford's Assistant Athletics Director-Equipment Manager and is loving every minute.
PALO ALTO, Calif. 鈥� When Chris Dountas was a student at California University of Pennsylvania, the lifelong sports fan wondered what it would be like to work at a big-time sports program.
He earned a bachelor蘑菇视频 degree in science and sports management in 2003, and he can now say that he is living somewhat of a dream.
Dountas was hired at Stanford University in May, 2016 as the Assistant Athletics Director-Equipment Manager and is loving every minute.
鈥淚 honestly got into this career by accident and have been very fortunate to do something that I love every day,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 am fortunate as from an equipment manager stand point, Stanford is one of the best in the country and one of the bigger athletic departments in the country.鈥�
In his position, the Mechanicsburg, Pa. native has several roles, including managing and supervising the operations of the Equipment Department in which he oversees eight employees, is responsible for an annual department operating budget of over $110,000 and a Nike contract worth over $1.9 million.
Dountas has to plan and allocate funds annually for all teams and departments covered by the Nike contract, coordinate daily in-house laundry services for over 950 student-athletes and 250 staff/coaches.
A piece by the 鈥淧eninsula Press鈥� in April titled 鈥淭he people behind the scenes: Stanford Athletic equipment managers鈥� gave a behind the scenes look at what Dountas and the equipment managers of Stanford蘑菇视频 36 varsity sports with athletic gear do.
The piece can be seen at http://peninsulapress.com/2017/04/27/stanford-athletics-equipment-managers/.
Because another one of his roles is to oversee all equipment travel and shipping logistic for the football team蘑菇视频 away games, Dountas will be heading to Australia for the football team蘑菇视频 opener against Rice in Sydney Australia on August 26.
So how did Dountas end up at Standford?
After finishing at Cal U, Dountas drove armored trucks before accepting a one-year internship at the University of Central Florida before being hired by the University of Connecticut where he served as the Assistant Director of Equipment Services from July, 2005 through that October when he was hired by the University of Pittsburgh as the Assistant Equipment Manager.
鈥淎fter my intership was over, I was very fortunate to get my first full-time job at UCONN and after my short stint there, a position opened at Pitt,鈥� he said.
He served in the role from October, 2005 through September, 2008 when he was promoted to the Director of Equipment Services.
Dountas, who was known as 鈥淒onut鈥� in high school and college when a friend used a word-play on his last name, held that position until he left for Stanford.
鈥淎fter a little over 10 years at Pitt, I was very, very fortunate to be hired at Standford,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 love what I do, and it is very rewarding to see student-athletes come in as freshmen and leave after putting in four to five successful years.
鈥淣ot every one of our athletes will go on to play professional sports, so to see them graduate and move onto being successful in something other than athletics is great to see.鈥�
Ron Seily, the Athletics Practice Fields Foreman at Cal U, reflected back on Dountas鈥� time there.
鈥淚 am so proud of him and his success,鈥� Seily said. 鈥淓ven when he was young, he took charge of things and is a natural leader.鈥�
During a tour of the Stanford athletic facilities and the campus that Dountas provided last Monday, he gave an inside look at how things run, showed the impressive football team locker room among other stellar facilities, and while on the tour, we ran into Senior Associate AD and CFO Brian Talbott.
鈥淐hris has hired an almost new staff since he got here and he has brought a level on control and professionalism as well,鈥� Talbott said. 鈥淗e is really enhancing the support for the Olympic sports and that has been a game-changer for a lot of our sports.鈥�
Dountas concluded the tour sharing a humble appreciation for the position that he has while showing off one of the most beautiful campuses in the country via a golf cart.
鈥淔rom Cal to Cali,鈥� he said while grinning and shaking his head almost in disbelief. 鈥淚 may be living a dream.鈥�