Hope College will embark on a new era in the administration of intercollegiate athletics with the appointment of alumnus Tim Schoonveld to succeed retiring longtime men's athletics director Ray Smith.
Hope College will embark on a new era in the administration of intercollegiate athletics with the appointment of alumnus Tim Schoonveld to succeed retiring longtime men's athletics director Ray Smith.
As co-athletic director, Schoonveld will join Eva Dean Folkert in administering the college's 18 sports for men and women. Their responsibilities will not be gender-specific.
Ray Smith retired with the end of the current school year after serving the college since 1970, the last 29 years as director of athletics for men. Folkert joined the Hope staff in 1985 and has been director of women's athletics since 2005.
"We are very excited to have Tim join the Kinesiology faculty. His administrative and academic experiences, along with his deep love of HopeCollege, will enhance both the athletic administration and academic areas of our department," said Dr. Mark Northuis, chair of the department of kinesiology. "The recent athletic changes and achievements at Holland Christian Schools are due in part to Tim's leadership, strong Christian character, and the administrative team and coaches he worked with. We look forward to having him work with Eva Dean Folkert as co-athletic director, helping to set the future course of Hope College athletics."
Schoonveld is a 1996 Hope College graduate who majored in kinesiology with a minor in political science. His college basketball career, first at Calvin College and then at Hope, was ended by a series of knee surgeries.
He received the M.A. in sports administration from Western Michigan University in 2005.
From 1997 until 2000 he was the men's junior varsity basketball coach at Hope while teaching in the Zeeland public schools system.
He has been employed by the Holland Christian schools since 2000. He was named assistant principal and athletic director of Holland Christian High School in 2006.
He has been the girls' varsity basketball coach at Holland Christian High School since 2000. He was named the Class B coach of the year by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan in 2008 after his team advanced to the state tournament semi-finals. The 2009 team made it to the quarterfinals with a school-record 21 wins.
Schoonveld and his wife, Lisa (Timmer) both grew up in the Holland/Zeeland area. They have three children, Kenedy, Elijah and Teagan. Lisa was a standout two-sport athlete at Hope, achieving All-MIAA honors in basketball and softball