CWRU Athletic Director David Hutter was just beginning his career as a college administrator when Title IX legislation, which prohibited sexual discrimination in educational activities, was passed (1972) and when the NCAA divided into three divisions a year later.

Two storied events that kicked off one storied career.

Including his years as a student, Hutter, a native Steubenville, Ohio, has been involved in higher education via sports as an athlete, instructor, coach and administrator for nearly four decades. That's a lot of games and a lot of weeknights and weekends.

"There has not been a weekend in a long time that my wife (Lynn, a school teacher in Shaker Heights) and I haven't had to see each other in passing," said Hutter. "This is going to be the biggest change in our lives. We are no longer going to have weekend or evening commitments throughout the year. That's going to be good in many ways."

Hutter, 61, came to CWRU as athletic director and chairman of the Department of Physical Education and Athletics in July 1985. He will retire from those two positions this July but will not leave CWRU all together. Hutter will return during the second semester next year as an instructor of physical education following a nine-month sabbatical.

"It will be great to return to teaching full-time and to doing what full-time faculty members do in terms of committee assignments and advising students. That is something I haven't done in a while," said Hutter.

His sabbatical will involve writing interpretations and producing an anthology of sports poetry, which he has collected through the years. Hutter will then propose teaching a course with a sport theme in the University's freshman seminar program (SAGES). He also plans on doing some service work related to helping youth.

Hutter majored in mathematics at Ohio University in Athens and played four years of football for the Bobcats. During his junior year (1962) OU played in the Sun Bowl, and he was a co-captain his senior season (1963). Hutter earned his master's degree in physical education with a minor in school administration, also from Ohio University. He received his doctorate from The Ohio State University in 1970

"Going to college was a big deal for me in my family," said Hutter. My dad didn't finish the ninth grade and my mother stopped after her sophomore year in high school."

While Hutter has been at CWRU, Spartan teams won 17 conference championships (NCAC 8, UAA 9) and earned two NCAA playoff bids. Hutter also led CWRU in helping to create the University Athletic Association in 1986 and participated in the planning of the Veale Center, CWRU's five-year-old indoor athletic complex. His last major task has been the coordination of the North Residential Village athletic facilities (breaking ground this year), which includes new athletic fields and a field house.

"Those are tangible events that made some impact on my life as well as the programs," said Hutter. "They were critical decisions I was a part of, but I certainly did not play any more of a role than any one else at the University."

Prior to his arrival in University Circle, Hutter was the athletic director, chair of the physical education and athletics department and professor of physical education at Bethany College in Bethany, W.Va. Bethany won 21 conference championships and received 15 NCAA playoff bids during Hutter's tenure.