“I think we’re on the front end of the golden age of Bowling Green athletics, and [Derek van der Merwe’s] driving that ship,” BGSU men’s basketball head coach Todd Simon said.
Ever since van der Merwe replaced Bob Moosbrugger and became BGSU’s director of athletics just over two years ago on Oct. 25, 2022, he has completely changed the culture at Bowling Green.
“There’s a great culture that he’s brought here, and I think he’s done an unbelievable job of getting the community rallied around athletics,” BGSU football head coach Scot Loeffler said.
Van der Merwe’s story does not begin in Bowling Green. Instead, his journey dates back to his time as a student at another Mid-American Conference (MAC) school — Central Michigan.
After being born and raised in South Africa to a missionary family, van der Merwe was an offensive lineman for Central Michigan football from 1991 to 1995, winning the MAC Championship in 1994 and serving as a co-captain for the Chippewas in 1995. He graduated from CMU with a bachelor’s and master’s degree.
“I started out as a walk-on and earned a scholarship. I think that connection with the student experience gives you that chance to not only be able to understand what student-athletes are going through but empathize and also be a part of how you enhance that experience and make that a significant experience,” van der Merwe said. “So, I would say that was huge, a great opportunity for me to learn and grow.”
He then started his career as an academic advisor at Central Michigan before serving as deputy athletics director and chief operating officer at CMU for 16 years from 1997 to 2013.
Van der Merwe then moved on to Austin Peay, serving as athletics director from 2013 to 2015 before assuming the role of vice president for advancement, communication and strategic initiatives and executive director of foundation from 2015 to 2018.
“Working on the enterprise of a university first and understanding the importance of how you develop culture and a sense of community with faculty and staff. Working on the broader mission of growing enrollment is something I did throughout my career that had nothing to do with athletics,” van der Merwe said. “But it gave me a perspective of what the other side of campus, how it’s built, why it’s built that way, how do they build mission and purpose and how do we best support the development of that mission and purpose.”
Finally, he advanced to the University of Arizona, becoming the Wildcat’s assistant vice president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer from 2018 to 2022, most notably creating the university’s first-ever comprehensive strategic plan, “The Wildcat Way.”
“I think that every part of the experience I had in that process gave me the opportunity to be equipped to handle the challenges and opportunities here at Bowling Green,” van der Merwe said.
Since arriving at Bowling Green, one of the biggest accomplishments for van der Merwe has been the revival of the Falcon Fanatics, the BGSU student group that fanatically supports Falcon athletics.
“The greatest stories are about community. The greatest stories are about what you achieve as a community, not what I do, but what we can do,” van der Merwe said. “That’s really the focus on what we’re doing, and Falcon Fanatics is a great example of when you do that and you do it well, you can change everything.”
While the group was essentially non-existent when he arrived at Bowling Green, van der Merwe has turned Falcon Fanatics into a staple at the university.
“There’s no question the Falcon Fanatics are an absolute pillar to what we have growing here at Bowling Green,” Simon said. “We look at them as teammates of ours. They’re not separate; we’re all one team.”
Although it may seem like a daunting task, van der Merwe detailed that building back a group like the Falcon Fanatics is not as hard as it may seem — as long as you have the right mindset.
“It’s hard if you don’t value people. If you value people, it’s actually easier than you think. It just demands time. It demands a continual and persistent commitment to developing relationships,” van der Merwe said. “Any relationship that you develop in your life, it’s persistent, it’s building trust, it’s building true care. If it’s authentic, it takes time.”
While reviving the group, which was dormant for years, is a major accomplishment itself, van der Merwe believes there is even more potential for the Falcon Fanatics in the future.
“I think we have exponential growth in front of us. I think we haven’t even scratched the surface of what we can achieve. What we’re starting to do is build a great sense of community that people really value,” he said. “I don’t know what the potential is, but I can tell you from my previous experience that when it’s built the right way, and there is mutual respect, it’s endless, the opportunities of what you can achieve.”
Van der Merwe has galvanized not only the student population at BGSU but also the entire Bowling Green community.
The Bowling Green community around the country has surprised van der Merwe the most since arriving in northwest Ohio.
“I think that the depth and quality of our alumni around this country has been the greatest surprise. We have amazing people…I think that Bowling Green has a lot to be very, very proud of,” van der Merwe said. “It’s been something that’s been the biggest eye-opener for me, and also a chance for me to get to know these amazing individuals has been pretty breathtaking for me.”
One of the most notable and visible changes van der Merwe has made at Bowling Green is overhauling coaches.
In just over two years, he has hired eight coaches, extended five and fired four.
“I think it’s, first and foremost, value alignment…Culture will win every day when you have the right culture in a program. Culture will beat talent, values will beat talent,” van der Merwe said. “Be a program that’s built around great people who really are doing the right things and watch the great things that happen within a program. So, making sure that we’re bringing people and maintaining people that are value-aligned, and that’s been the best part of this.”
Van der Merwe hired Simon, women’s basketball head coach Fred Chmiel, hockey head coach Dennis Williams, women’s soccer head coach Chris Fox, gymnastics head coach Brittney Emmons, softball head coach Michelle Gardner, swim and dive head coach Tanner Barton and volleyball head coach Alex DelPiombo.
For Simon and others, van der Merwe is a major reason they were interested in moving to Bowling Green.
“Quite frankly, he was very much a deciding factor to come. I’m not one that moves around very much. I was at Southern Utah for seven years and had several opportunities,” Simon said. “I don’t mess with happy; I was very comfortable. But he was very dynamic. You could see the leadership qualities. You could see the passion to grow programs.”
Van der Merwe has also extended Loeffler, women’s golf head coach Erin Fahey, men’s soccer head coach Eric Nichols, former volleyball head coach Danijela Tomic and baseball head coach Kyle Hallock (twice).
For Hallock and others who van der Merwe has retained, it serves as a vote of confidence for both themselves and their programs.
“When you perform, you can get rewarded. We are looking for all parts of the program to get rewarded, and they are working on making that a reality for us,” Hallock said. “Everything that we want to have happen at BGSU for our baseball program is attainable if we all work together to do it. You do feel like part of a team, and you feel like everyone is pulling in the same direction to make history both on the field, at the field, with the field and across the community. So, we will work together every single day to make that a reality.”
Meanwhile, he has fired former men’s basketball head coach Michael Huger, former hockey head coach Ty Eigner, former softball head coach Candace Fenton-Bockbrader and former swim and dive head coach Rickey Perkins.
“People that have been through great, great challenge and turmoil and have blossomed out of that environment, and have had success, are the ones that I admire the most, personally and professionally,” van der Merwe said. “Seeing those individuals in front of me as they’re talking about those experiences, is what excites me because I know that they’re going to walk in here and day one, they’re not going to look at here’s why we can’t be successful here. I want people to walk into this place, look around and go, ‘There’s a lot of great things happening here. This is why we can be successful.'”
With a solid team of coaches implanted into BGSU and a community built up to support them, the Falcons are now positioned into the mindset of success under van der Merwe.
“I think that we have seen a great deal of interest from our alumni and our donors and supporters that have wanted to be in this space (speaking on NIL); they understand the importance of it. We still have a lot of growth, a lot of opportunity. It’s going to be a changing landscape; we have coaches that understand it and have worked tirelessly to find another group of donors, supporters and alumni who care about this place and are helping us to be successful,” he said. “We have people around this country that want Bowling Green to achieve championships and have great success. So, it’s been our job and mission to connect with those people and making sure that they see where they can play a significant role in helping build those programs.”
During van der Merwe’s short time in the Orange and Brown, BGSU has seen one MAC regular season championship in baseball, a MAC championship in 2022 and a regular season championship in 2024 for volleyball, as well as 14 postseason appearances across nine programs.
There are many attributes and characteristics that van der Merwe possesses to help him create change like he has at Bowling Green.
“There’s leaders, and then there’s leaders that impact change. He has an ability to just absolutely impact change in everything that he touches in a positive way and bring energy. I think you can feel the momentum and the energy to every project that he takes on,” Simon said. “You can kind of see it in just the excitement level around all the sports, and there’s a certain level of accountability that he demands based on his example and his energy. That’s something that I think about every day: Did I match the energy that he has today for Bowling Green? That’s the standard.”
Creativity is a major strength for van der Merwe.
“I think Derek’s very creative, very creative and very innovative. No challenge or problem is too big for him. He’ll always attack it, and he really likes to think through those types of things,” Fahey said. “I think he’s really challenged us to think creatively and be innovative and always kind of think differently and not be afraid to tackle challenges and don’t run from them.”
He is known for his tireless work ethic, which Loeffler has known about since his days at Central Michigan.
“It goes all the way back to his playing days; he was a relentless worker, a tough, smart guy. Anytime you have tough and smart, you’re generally going to have success. That’s what he is,” Loeffler said. “I always pride myself on working harder than anyone, and since he’s been here, I’m chasing at times. He really works really hard, and I appreciate that. He does that for every sport that we have. He does that in the community. He does that with the students.”
Van der Merwe is also constantly working and available whenever he is needed.
“His energy and the consistency of which he operates, and the fact that he’s willing to do this job 24/7. I mean, you can give him a shout at 9:30 at night and know he’s going to answer, and if business needs to be handled at that hour, then it will be handled at that hour,” Hallock said. “So, his willingness to do the job every minute he’s awake allows us to get better at all parts of the day, not just nine to five.”
Additionally, van der Merwe possesses a special ability as a strong communicator and connector of people.
“He’s a connector and one of the best connectors I’ve been around. It takes an appreciation for the students and the student-athletes in order to be the level of connector that he is,” Simon said. “He demands that alignment with the student body and our programs, which is right down our alley. That’s something that we really, really value, and we enjoy building a program, enjoy building crowds, and doing something that’s sustainable.”
Over his two-plus years at BGSU, van der Merwe has created change, elevated programs and reshaped the university and community culture.
However, he is far from being done.
“We have a commitment to persistent process and growth. We can’t ever slow down. We can’t ever stay the same. We’ll achieve big goals, we’ll break attendance goals, we’ll break fundraising goals, we’ll continue,” van der Merwe said. “We’ll continue to grow and enhance the experience of our fans. We’ll continue to engage a whole new generation of alumni. We’ll make sure a whole new generation of students get to really understand the value athletics brings to their college experience.”
While he has a lot of goals in mind for the future, the ultimate benchmarks are championships.
“If I can sit there and say there’s a sort of finite box of goals, my mind doesn’t live in a box. I look at the entire enterprise and go, there’s so many different ways we can continue to enhance and support our growth. Obviously, my hunger and passion for success is I want championships; I see that as the absolute metric of the outcomes,” van der Merwe said. “It really does galvanize people together; it creates a great sense of community and purpose, and I feel a great sense of responsibility to be a person that is a catalyst for that on this campus.”
