Zeleznak Leaves Hardwood For Sponsorships

SAN ANTONIO – When you've been part of a university department of athletics as long as Jim Zeleznak (B.A. '79) has been, it's only logical for people to ask you "What next?"
 
Tuesday the long-time head coach at St. Mary's University announces he's trading his coaching shoes for those of an administrator as he becomes the Athletic Department's Director of Corporate Sponsors.
 
"After coaching for 44 years, I'm not sure how to feel," Zeleznak said. "I know there will be an adjustment period, but I felt the timing was right and that the transition will be pretty smooth. There aren't many times you are able to do things on your own terms in this business and it all worked out, where it's been happening efficiently." 
 
Zeleznak, who has served as the Head Men's Basketball Coach for the past 18 seasons and ranks third in school history with 264 victories, has also spent time at St. Mary's as the Assistant Men's Basketball Coach (1978-2005), Head Softball Coach (1980-1994) and Head Men's Golf Coach (1997-1999). 
 
He has been on the sidelines or in the dugout for 1,195 wins as well as a part of two national championships, as the Head Coach of Softball in 1986 for the first-ever national title in school history and as the Assistant Coach for Men's Basketball in 1989. He also helped guide the team's first-ever individual Men's Golf conference champion in Steffan Pelz, as he won the 1999 Heart of Texas Conference title.
 
"I can't thank Jim enough for the way he has taken care of our players during our time together," Executive Director of Athletics Robert Coleman said. "The way the team has competed, the level of community service the team has been involved with and their overall success academically has been greatly appreciated. He had unprecedented success as our Head Softball Coach earlier in his career while also being our Assistant Men's Basketball Coach and then becoming the Head Coach of our Men's Basketball team, all with very strong outcomes. It has been a wonderful coaching career, one I am hopeful he can look back on fondly and appreciate his great work."
 
Zeleznak was the National Coach of the Year in 1986 and twice named the Heart of Texas Coach of the Year in Softball. On the hardwood he earned Heartland Conference Coach of the Year twice. In the two sports where he spent most of his coaching career, his Softball teams advanced to 12 NAIA National Tournaments and won the Big State and Heart of Texas Conference titles in 14 of his 15 years. Men's Basketball made 20 National Tournament appearances, including nine trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament, and won 19 conference titles during his tenure as both an Assistant and the Head Coach. He's seen 20 athletes earn All-American recognition and four more named Academic All-American. 
 
"Jim has also been instrumental with a host of our major fundraising events, none more important than the Buddy Meyer/Athletics Golf Tournament," Coleman said. "We will now use his strengths in another fashion, administratively, to benefit the athletic program moving forward."
 
While moving into a new role, Zeleznak is no stranger to helping the department raise funds as he's been a driving force behind the annual Buddy Meyer Golf Tournament for years. The tournament regularly grosses six figures and connects with all parts of the Rattler Nation community – from corporate sponsors to alumni to parents and boosters.
 
"I'm used to talking with the corporate world with the golf tournament," Zeleznak said. "Being able to devote a little more time to that will allow me to cultivate better relationships. Trying to get people involved is a big area we can work on. There's untapped potential there that I'll be able to help with."
 
Head Softball Coach and Senior Woman's Administrator Donna Fields (B.A. '87, M.A. '01) agrees. Fields played for Zeleznak from 1985-1987, then joined him as a coach at St. Mary's in 1998, taking over the reins of the Softball program.
 
"Coach Zeleznak has always been one of the big driving forces in getting the sponsorships for the golf tournament," Fields said. "We saw it back when we were players, his communication skills with boosters and alumni and his ability to get the most out of his buck. He's very good at that part of it all.
 
Zeleznak played one season on the Men's Basketball team in 1974-1975 before turning his attention toward coaching. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1979 from St. Mary's in Physical Education and Political Science. He began as an assistant in 1978-1979 and worked on his master's degree from Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State) during the summers as he worked full time.