Q&A with new Director of Athletics and Recreation Derek van der Merwe 

How van der Merwe plans to help BGSU Athletics contribute to a thriving campus community

Derek van der Merwe joined BGSU as the new director of athletics and recreation in November. Van der Merwe comes to Bowling Green from the University of Arizona, where he served as the associate vice president and chief operations officer since 2018 for the Wildcat athletics department.

Van der Merwe has worked in higher education for more than 25 years, serving in leadership roles in both athletics and university-wide positions. He has held leadership positions in the Pac-12 Conference, the Ohio Valley Conference and the Mid-American Conference. Born and raised in South Africa to missionary parents, van der Merwe attended Central Michigan University, where he was a student-athlete and earned Academic All-MAC honors as a co-captain of CMU Football in 1995. He earned a bachelor's degree and master's degree from CMU.

We asked van der Merwe about what he’s looking forward to at BGSU and why it’s beneficial for the whole campus community to embrace intercollegiate athletics.

What excites you most about this opportunity at BGSU within the MAC and the CCHA?

I grew up in the Mid-American Conference. I was a walk-on student-athlete who fought for the opportunity to earn a scholarship and compete. After being a student-athlete for five years, I spent another 16-17 years working full-time in the MAC.

Throughout those years, I could see Bowling Green was a very special place because I always witnessed the passion of this fan base. This University has been a place where everything kind of grew in our league and you could see that year in, year out. There was just so much vibrancy in this community, so a chance to be a part of this is very special for me.

How would you describe Athletics’ contribution to BGSU as a public university for the public good? 

I've seen how athletics can be transformative in the culture of a community. In 1994-95, I was in South Africa for the Rugby World Cup and got to experience the transition out of apartheid.

Many of you have seen the movie Invictus and you understand the importance of how Nelson Mandela rallied around the South African team to help build a sense of community and shared culture. It was more than just about New Zealand and South Africa. It was about the entire community identifying with what was happening on that field with a shared passion for the success of South Africa, coming together regardless of history. It was a very powerful lesson that has stuck with me for my entire life.

I think that same transformational power is available to us today. Athletics brings people together to share a sense of purpose and perseverance toward a common goal, and that bonding experience is crucial to BGSU as a high-performance learning community.

How do the student-athletes themselves have an impact on the campus community?

As a former student-athlete, being on a team I had to confront ethnic, religious, economic and cultural diversity with teammates, and do that in an environment where tensions run high. My experience was characterized by opportunities for success and the potential for failure on an ongoing basis.

But that battle we shared helped us to understand and respect and learn from each other. That's the beauty of participation in sport. You can't retreat to your corner and avoid conflict.

Conflict is evident every day when you step onto that field of competition. You must confront it and it blends into everything that we do in sport. That same spirit is brought to the entire campus community by our student-athletes.

Having these exceptional individuals who are performing at a very high level to achieve success both athletically and academically is a demonstration of the potential for achievement under pressure and in the face of adversity. Sharing that experience is powerful and helps all of us to grow and develop.

What can you say about your role as the director of recreation at BGSU?

I'm kind of excited about that as I take a snapshot of my life and career. I participated in sport and went on to work in the sport industry. Now, there is this very personal dimension of trying to be a person who thinks holistically about my overall health and wellness.

Maintaining our health is a lifelong challenge that we all share, and we must be committed to the fight and willing to invest in it every day. I got up this morning at 5 a.m. and worked out. It was one of those things that you wake up and you don't feel great or highly motivated, but you do it because you know the importance.

I view personal health and wellness as a moral imperative and believe we must be committed to it and make sacrifices to ensure that's a priority in our life. And so being a proponent and advocate for that will be something I leverage in my role as director of recreation.