On June 24, 2022, the Winthrop University Board of Trustees approved Interim President George Hynd's recommendation to appoint Chuck Rey as the university's athletic director. Rey has been serving in the interim athletic director role since December 2021.
"While we interviewed three candidates, one clearly emerged as having the relevant experience, vision and the entrepreneurial spirit the university needs in its athletic director. I am delighted that Chuck has accepted the role as Winthrop's new athletic director," said Hynd. "His hiring was based on the search committee's feedback, our need to have an athletic director that can address the current and emerging needs of our athletic department, and my own personal experience with Chuck. His experience as a successful coach, his engagement with the current staff and coaches in athletics, and his desire to expand the impact of athletics in our Rock Hill community all forecast a successful future for the athletic department at Winthrop."
"It is an incredible honor to serve Winthrop University and for the opportunity to a lead a program with an incredibly rich tradition and greater expectations," said Rey. "There has always been tremendous pride throughout the student-athletes, staff, coaches, alumni and the community. We will work extremely hard to continue to build championship teams, graduate student-athletes, and maintain a culture of the highest integrity. Winthrop is a special family and I appreciate being able to be a part of the family in this way."
Rey said he was appreciative to Hynd and the athletics staff for their faith in him. "I am grateful for the opportunity to continue leading Winthrop Athletics, and I look forward to working with our staff, student-athletes and our community to build upon our campus of champions. Go Eagles!"
Rey will continue to oversee 17 Division I sports and a department that has set new records for departmental cumulative grade point average (GPA) each year since 2016-17, including a record-high 3.35 mark by the student-athlete population for the 2020-21 academic year.
With the announcement of officially becoming the athletic director, Rey will step away from his coaching duties of the volleyball program and as a search will begin immediately for a new head coach.
As the Eagles head volleyball coach, Rey earned back-to-back Big South Conference Coach of the Year accolades in 2018 and 2019 as he led the Eagles to a 14-0 regular season record (24-5 overall), a Big South Conference Championship and a berth to the NCAA Tournament. In his four seasons guiding the volleyball program he posted a 67-36 overall record and 46-16 conference record.
Rey and his wife, Lori, are parents of six-year-old twins and live in Rock Hill. The Reys are a member of North Rock Hill Church and enjoy hiking the nearby Appalachian Mountains and visiting with family at the beautiful South Carolina beaches.
