Ron Strollo

     Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Ron Strollo, a former Penguin student-athlete, has worked diligently to ensure that today’s student-athletes have the support system in place to succeed not only at Youngstown State, but also in their future.
    Now in his ninth year as Athletics Director and 14th as a member of the department, his vision for successful broad-based programs and providing student-athletes tools to succeed on and off the playing fields is coming to fruition.
    Strollo has concentrated his priorities on facility improvements; full compliance of NCAA regulations; fiscal management and budgetary maintenance; streamlining department organization; increasing visibility and fundraising efforts of the Penguin Club; and enhancing the overall experience and competitiveness of student-athletes and programs.
    Outside of YSU, Strollo is also very involved on the regional and national level serving on several prominent committees. He is in his first of four years on the NCAA Division I Football Championship Selection Committee; is on the NCAA Division I Football Issues Committee; serves as the Central Region Chair of the NCAA Regional Advisory Committee; is on the Executive Committee of the FCS Athletic Directors Association; and serves as the Chair of the Horizon League Executive Committee.
    During his tenure, Strollo has placed a priority on the construction and enhancements of athletic venues. Currently, he is leading the final phases of a capital campaign to construct the Watson and Tressel Training Site, a $10 million indoor athletic practice facility which will include an indoor track and football practice field.
    The Beeghly Center has undergone more than $4 million in renovations. In the past year, Youngstown State acquired the 2009 Men’s Final Four basketball hoops, new strobe lighting was installed and the volleyball and men’s basketball locker rooms were refurbished. Last year, a new Dom Rosselli Court was installed and a weight room was built for the men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball and swimming and diving programs.
    Within the past two years in Stambaugh Stadium, office space in the athletic marketing and ticket offices and football suite received an enhancement, the weight room and athletic training offices were renovated, and upgrades were made to the baseball, soccer and softball locker rooms. Other recent upgrades include new chair-back seating (2009), a new south-stadium scoreboard (2009), a concourse-level elevator (2005), a scoreboard and a Mitsubishi DiamondVision videoboard (2004) and a state-of-the-art SprinTurf playing surface (2002).
    He has also secured agreements for Eastwood Field, the home of the Cleveland Indians’ Class-A affiliate, and Cene Park to be the baseball team’s home fields and McCune Park to serve as the softball team’s home venue.
    Thanks to the benevolence of the Andrews Trust and the priority Strollo places on academics, the academic counseling center underwent a significant renovation and expansion and continues to receive technology upgrades.
    In the past eight years, the department, which has been recognized as a national leader for its graduation rates, has had many successes on and off the playing field.
    Under his leadership, Youngstown State earned full NCAA certification in 2007. This review of governance and commitment to rules, academic integrity, and equity and student-athlete well-being showed YSU athletics operates in substantial conformity with the operating principles adopted by the NCAA Division I membership.
    More than half of the current 300-plus student-athletes have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher while nine teams have an overall GPA of at least 3.0. YSU’s Academic Progress Rate is well above the national average for public institutions, and its 93 percent graduation rate is at an all-time high.
    Eleven student-athletes have captured Academic All-America accolades while a total of 46 have been named to Academic All-District teams.
    YSU has won 13 Horizon League titles, and it won back-to-back Gateway Football Conference (now the Missouri Valley Football Conference) championships in 2005 and 2006. Most recently, YSU added the 2009 Horizon League Women’s Outdoor Track and Field and Women’s Golf Championships to its trophy cases.
    In Strollo’s role as the Executive Director of the Penguin Club, the organization has increased athletic endowed scholarship contributions annually. Annual events keep improving every year, and the growth of the Football Alumni Club has had a positive impact on the department.
    Strollo returned to his alma mater in 1996 as athletic business manager. In March 2000, he was named the school’s Associate Executive Director of Athletics. In his short time in that capacity, he helped spearhead the transition into the Horizon League.
    He has strong ties to the local community and to the athletic department. He grew up in nearby Austintown and attended Fitch High School. He played football for YSU from 1988 through 1991 for Coach Jim Tressel and was named captain of the first Division I-AA National Championship team in 1991. He earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Youngstown State in June, 1993.
    Ron and his wife, Nicole, reside in Austintown with their two children, Ryan and Rachel. Nicole is a former YSU student-athlete who competed in track and cross country from 1989 through 1993.

Youngstown State Athletic Directors
2001-Present - Ron Strollo
1994-2001 - Jim Tressel
1983-1994 - Joe Malmisur
1980-1983 - Bill Narduzzi
1975-1980 - Paul Amodio
1945-1974 - Willard Webster
1939-1944 - Kenneth James
1936-1938 - Castle W. Foard
1930-1936 - Jack McPhee
1927-1930 - Al Fairfield