MIDDLEBURY — While recently retired Middlebury College Athletic Director Erin Quinn made Middlebury his home only after coming here for college, new Panther AD Todd Phelps has known this part of Vermont much longer.

Phelps, who took over on July 1, is a Middlebury native.

“For my wife and I, this is more than a great opportunity. This is a homecoming,” said Phelps, the former deputy director of athletics at North Dakota State University, during a July 8 press conference.

Before his 11-year stint with the Midwestern school, Phelps held posts in the athletics departments at Oregon State University, Stony Brook University, Brown University and Yale University, after getting his start in the field with the Panthers as an assistant volleyball and basketball coach, and coordinator of facilities and operations, in 1995.

“Middlebury has always been a very special place, near and dear to our hearts,” Phelps said.

“And to have the chance to come back and lead probably the premier Division Three athletic department in the country (is) incredibly meaningful.

Like Quinn, Phelps began his career in college athletics right on the Middlebury pitch, after graduating from Ithaca College in 1995 with a degree in K-12 physical education teaching.

“First and foremost, I want to recognize the late (Middlebury College men’s basketball coach) Russ Reilley,” Phelps said. “Russ took a chance on me right out of college, coming back here to Middlebury College after growing up here. He challenged, guided, believed in me every step of the way, and I certainly would not be sitting here today if it was not for Russ. So I’m forever indebted to him,” he said.

“I also come here with a tremendous amount of respect for the tradition that has been built. I want to acknowledge and thank Erin Quinn for his remarkable time at Middlebury as a student athlete, as a coach, and certainly as the director of athletics. He leaves a tremendous legacy.”

Phelps’s guiding principles as he enters his first year in the position aren’t all that different from those that have defined Quinn’s time at Middlebury.

“My goal is not to change who we are, but certainly to build upon the strong foundation, while continuing to support our student athletes, our coaches, and staff in every way possible. As I begin this role, my priority is simple: it’s to listen, it’s to learn, build relationships, understand what makes Middlebury special from every perspective,” Phelps said.

“I believe the best decisions come from collaboration, from communication, transparency, and trust, and those will be my guiding principles every day. There’s tremendous momentum here, and I look forward to working alongside all the coaches, staff, student athletes, alums, and the supporters as we write this next chapter of Middlebury College athletics together.”

Phelps both wants to preserve the perennial success of the school’s most lauded programs — field hockey, women’s ice hockey and women’s lacrosse — and bring the rest of the school’s teams to that level.

“I want to be the best Division III program in the country, across the board, and give all of our coaches, and our student athletes, the opportunity to compete for conference and national championships.”

Phelps already believes the Middlebury program is the best of its D-III peers.

“I think it all starts with people,” he said when asked what makes the program so competitive. “I’ve said to some people as I’ve taken over this role … I’m only as good as the people around me. And I think, again, going back to the fact that you have some real longevity in the coaching staff, people who understand this community, who understand what it means to be in Middlebury.”

And he believes it’s a reinforcing cycle.

“We want coaches who want to be here and understand that it is special, and I think the more you build that, the more you can recruit to that. Again, not only the coaches recruiting student athletes, but us recruiting coaches, and there’s going to be, you know, some time when you know coaches are going to turn over, and things are going to change, and so have to be ready, I have to be ready for that, and we got to be ready to fully understand, what it means to be here, and want people who want to be here,” he added.

“But I think that all translates into the success — you’re recruiting to a special place.”