MONTEREY – During the interview process, Wendy Bates took out a faded piece of paper with notes that she had written to herself 13 years earlier. She showed the Monterey Peninsula College selection panel what her long-term goals were.
On the bucket list was to become an athletic director.
“It was a position where I believed I could make a bigger difference,” Bates said, recalling the 2020 interview.
Navigating through a pandemic wasn’t exactly how Bates envisioned the job. Yet, her guidance as an athletic director enabled MPC to become a model for others to follow.
“When you’re at the lowest of lows, you have to get creative,” Bates said. “Everyone bought in. We stayed engaged with our student-athletes. We (coaches) all stayed connected. And it worked.”
Bates is leaving a legacy in her brief stint at MPC, as she announced that she is retiring after five years as the school’s dean of athletics.
“She kept our athletic programs going during COVID,” said MPC men’s basketball coach Blake Spiering, who is beginning his 23rd year. “She’s done a good job in getting our brand out there, creating a good image.”
Bates, who is a member of the Chico State basketball Hall of Fame, has actually been a part of the MPC family since 2004, arriving to resurrect the women’s basketball program, winning over 200 games.
For someone who spent her entire life around sports, Bates didn’t envision herself as a coach or anything involving athletics after her playing career ended at Chico State.
“I wanted to become a counselor or a psychologist,” Bates said. “But it was clear early on when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do, that I couldn’t stay away from athletics. So maybe I should look into this coaching thing.”
Bates had coaching stints at Santa Rosa, Hartnell and Feather River before landing at MPC, where she has spent the last two decades, the last five as the school’s athletic director.
“We have made some changes in the last four years to advance the programs in a different way,” Bates said. “We were a team (coaches) that was intact. I feel like we’re in a good place.”
During Bates’ tenure, MPC has replaced the turf on its football field, as well as resurfacing the track. The softball field was redone, along with renovations to the swimming pool, and the tennis and pickleball courts that the community has access to.
“She gave the place a facelift that it deserved,” said Nick Cunningham, the school’s track and field coach. “She put our facilities on a level to hold big events.”
In some regards, the pandemic was a blessing for Bates. Because no one had a clue how to proceed in the beginning, there was also no expectation or anyone for her to be compared to.
“I had to pave my own way,” Bates said. “Coming right into a pandemic was challenging. But in some ways, it was a gift. I wasn’t being compared to anyone. It hadn’t been done before.”
Working closely with all her coaches, Bates put together a program during the pandemic with the mindset of keeping student-athletes mental health strong.
“It was tough,” Bates said. “Honestly, sports is what was going to save our student-athletes. That is what they really needed. But we couldn’t do it in the same way obviously.”
Instead, video meetings were set up weekly for all 12 sports on campus. The school continued to pay its coaches, who conducted virtual workouts.
“I still remember we’d have them drive by and hand out equipment through car windows to enable our athletes to engage with us during workouts,” Bates said.
Bates met weekly through video meetings with athletic directors across the state in an effort to create better ideas going forward.
A return to sports protocol was put in place and implemented in a cost-effective way for athletes to return to the field, gym or track in the fall of 2021.
“I still remember having to put gowns, gloves and masks on and test these kids,” Bates said. “Nurses needed help. We just had to do it. And we had to keep testing ourselves.”
The Lobos came out of the pandemic strong, with its football program winning the first of four straight conference titles, and the softball program pulling off a pair of 30-plus win seasons.
“She came in and really was a big proponent of helping our program get up to speed,” Cunningham said. “She allowed me to show my visions and not hold me back in what I wanted to create here. She’s been a big advocate in building the program.”
Two years ago, the Lobos women’s track and field team brought home the school’s first Coast Conference title, while last season saw three athletes podium at the state finals.
“We have six healthy sports for both men and women,” said Bates, who brought the women’s basketball program back this winter.
If there was one thing Bates wishes she could have improved upon, it was the hiring of more female coaches. Currently, there are no female head coaches and just three assistants on staff.
“Some of the positions that have opened up, we haven’t had a female candidate,” Bates said. “It continues to be an area of concern across the state. Women’s sports in general are down. The pandemic played a part in that. But I don’t think it’s all that. It’s a discussion across the state.”
Bates, whose role includes being the dean of student health and student activities, has had discussions about starting a flag football team for women.
“I think we’re the only college in the region to create a flag football class,” Bates said. “There’s interest up and down the state. It’s become extremely popular. And it’s going to be an Olympic sport.”
Bates isn’t sure who will replace her, or if anyone in the athletic department is interested in the position, as she will remain the dean of athletics until the end of the school year next June.
“To be honest, there was a retirement incentive,” Bates said. “My colleagues have become my friends. I’ll miss the interaction with students-athletes. But it made sense to do it now.”
