Chartiers Valley hires Potthoff as AD
The Chartiers Valley Board of School Directors voted June 24 to approve the hire of Angela Potthoff as the district’s new athletic director. She becomes the sixth female athletic director out of 143 schools in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL).
Potthoff, who will begin her role in August, replaces Frank Vulcano, who says that he was forced to retire because the district wanted new leadership. His contract was ‘terminated’ as of June 30. He received compensation for his sick days after submitting a letter of retirement.
“I had to submit the letter,” he said in an email sent to The Almanac and other members of the media. “I have no plans of retiring.”
According to Vulcano, he was told one and a half years ago that new leadership was wanted and that he should start looking for another job. At no time during that period, he said, did anybody tell him what they wanted to see in his leadership. Last June, he was given the one-year contract.
“When you have to make decisions that are in the best interest of the students and their program and the leaders of the district are not in agreement, then I guess they want a change,” Vulcano said. “I believe what I have done over the past eight years at CV should speak for itself.”
During his eight-year tenure, Vulcano started boy/girl basketball doubleheaders, hosted more than 200 playoff games, started boys’ and girls’ lacrosse teams and started the CV wrestling duals. The former president of the WPIAL AD’s association, Vulcano was named District VII Athletic Director of the Year.
Under his watch, the Colts claimed 29 section banners, sent 10 squads to district finals and two to state finals, winning one WPIAL championship.
In an email, CV’s Kara Droney noted indeed the school board accepted Vulcano’s retirement at its June 24 meeting. “We thank [Mr. Vulcano] for his service,” she added.
Meanwhile, Potthoff comes to Chartiers Valley from the University of Notre Dame, where she served as the associate director of operations and technology for the women’s basketball team. In this role, she was responsible for managing video clips from games and practices, tracking and analyzing data related to the program and coordinating all aspects of summer basketball camps. In addition, Potthoff helped advance Notre Dame’s social media, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Before moving to Notre Dame, Potthoff was a woman’s basketball coach at Robert Morris University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She also coached at Beaver Area High School.
As an athlete, the 40-year-old Erie native played professionally in the American Basketball League and the WNBA and collegiately at Penn State. She helped the Nittany Lions reach the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament twice while earning a degree in exercise and sport science.