Former CMU Athletic Director Joan McDermott’s husband of 45 years, Dan McDermott, has not spoken publicly about her stepping down from the role.
Joan McDermott announced she was stepping down as Colorado Mesa University’s athletic director on September 15, 2025. She had been the interim athletic director since 2023 and took the permanent role in 2024.
Whereas her husband, Dan, remains the assistant coach of CMU and hasn’t broken his silence on her decision.
Speaking of their relationship timeline, their story began in the mid-1980s.
Joan and Dan McDermott met around 1985 while working at Saint Mary’s College of California.
During that time, Joan, the former athletic director, was also the women’s volleyball coach, and Dan was an assistant baseball coach.
Both were early in their coaching careers, with Joan having graduated from the University of San Francisco in 1985. At the same time, Dan had started his collegiate coaching journey a few years earlier.
After about a year of dating, Joan and Dan married in 1986.
Between the late 1980s and early 2000s, they welcomed six children: Katie, Scott, John, Tim, Claire, and Jackson. Their youngest child was born around 2002.
Dan McDermott’s Over Three Decades of Baseball Coaching Career Boasts Over 800 wins!
Dan McDermott has spent over 30 years coaching baseball, mainly at the college level.
His journey began in 1982 as an assistant coach at Metro State University in Denver.
In 1983 and 1984, he took on the role of head coach at Wheat Ridge High School in Colorado. He led the team to a 38-14 record and two league championships.
During those summers, he also coached the Wheat Ridge American Legion team, winning three league titles.
From 1985 to 1988, Dan worked as an assistant baseball coach and recruiting coordinator at Saint Mary’s College in California.
During this time, he also coached a semi-professional team, the Contra Costa Giants, to a 59-18 record and two regional titles.
It was in 1089 when Dan landed his first head coach role at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa, where he stayed for nine years.
His teams won 345 games, earned four district championships, and were ranked among the top 20 NAIA teams for six straight years.
He was named District Coach of the Year five times and Regional Coach of the Year three times.
In 1998, Dan joined Regis University in Denver as a pitching coach before becoming head coach in 2000.
Over the course of 13 years, he became the program’s winningest coach, with 335 victories.
His teams reached the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) playoffs nine times, including a 2012 appearance in the NCAA Tournament after winning the RMAC Tournament.
In 2003, he was named RMAC Coach of the Year. His players earned 11 NCAA All-American honors and 12 were drafted into Major League Baseball.
In 2014, Dan took the head coaching job at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where he coached for nine years until the program ended in 2023.
During his time there, he led the team to its first postseason appearance in 2021 and set program records for wins and offensive stats.
His teams earned multiple All-PacWest honors, and Dan reached his 700th and 800th career wins.
Not to forget, Dan was also inducted into the Colorado Dugout Club and Briar Cliff College Halls of Fame in 2018.
Since 2024, Dan has served as an assistant baseball coach at Colorado Mesa University, where his wife, Joan, was the athletic director.
Throughout his career, Dan has also worked as an associate scout for the Atlanta Braves and as a pitching coach for the Sioux City Explorers.
