Longtime Williamson Director of Athletics Dale Plummer Set to Retire
Upon arriving on the Williamson College of the Trades campus for the first time in January of 1989 as the school's first ever full-time athletic director, Dale Plummer will be the first to admit he wasn't quite sure what he got himself into.
"Things were pretty bad. None of the teams were in a conference or national organization, and all six teams had losing records. The combined record of those teams was 14-68-1. There wasn't a single trophy case, banner or plaque hanging anywhere. Morale among the athletes was very low.
"I remember thinking to myself, 'what did I get myself into? This is a lot worse than I thought!'"
While he might not have known what he was getting himself into, the Williamson community knows what he is leaving with to hand off to his successor after his 36-year tenure as the college's Director of Athletics comes to an end.
All of Williamson's now eight varsity sports are in a conference and national organization, with five of them being nationally ranked at one point or another during the 2024-25 school year and a sixth finished sixth in the nation at their national championships. The college had 32 Academic All-Americans this year, along with two All-Americans (baseball announcement still pending), 15 all conference players and two conference Player of the Year award winners. Not too shabby for a college with a current student body of just 306 students. The hallway of the Restall Sports Center is lined with countless trophies and awards and the gym has 35 championship banners hanging in it.
"We have outstanding facilities, incredible coaches and a wonderful group of student-athletes," shared Plummer. "Throw in the world's finest administration, faculty and staff and Board of Trustees and there are your reasons for the success we have had."
What Williamson has been able to accomplish across the board during his time has been nothing short of amazing. Some of those accomplishments are as follows:
26 team titles
313 All Conference players
23 Player of the Year winners
86 All-Americans
278 Academic All-Americans
2 USCAA National Championships
6 national title game appearances
For his work at Williamson, Plummer was recognized on a national level in 2024 when he was inducted into the United States Collegiate Athletic Hall of Fame. He previously was inducted into the Collingswood High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015.
Plummer is known to have shaped the trajectory of Williamson athletics through a number of moves. One was the creation of the college's iconic WT logo. Created in 1993, he based it on a combination of the West Virginia and Mansfield University logos at the time. Williamson's athletic logo has become synonymous with the college.
"You can walk out of a forest in the middle of Iowa with a shirt with our WT logo on it and someone would recognize you as being from Williamson," joked Plummer. "It has become synonymous with Williamson athletics."
Another thing that Plummer did was develop the implementation of the college's athletic website, which has become a great source of pride for the college and its student-athletes. Developed 16 years ago, it has been admired by other colleges for its content and the way it highlights Williamson's student-athletes.
"I'm not sure people fully understand all that goes into running an athletics web page. It is a lot of work, so much so that colleges have full-time Sports Information Directors whose main focus is the college's athletic web page. We didn't have that luxury, so it fell on me. T is writing 150-200 articles a year, late night posting of scores, inputting of pictures and rosters. And I loved every second of it. I always said that we might not be NCAA Division I, but I'm going to try to fool our guys and make them think they are. The web page was a great way to do just that. I love making our guys feel proud of their accomplishments, as well as our alumni proud of their college.
"I would be remiss if I didn't thank Mr. Carl Vairo for all his help with photos for the web page over the years. He has been such a blessing to me and to all of Williamson.
"I loved doing the web page because it allowed me to focus on all the things our guys were doing and to let them know how special they were and how proud Williamson was about all they were doing. "
Three years into his tenure, Plummer was thrown a twist, as he took on the additional duties of being an adjunct mathematics instructor at the school.
"I wasn't overly thrilled by it, but as it turned out, I absolutely loved it! I was teaching math to the freshman construction trades and while the math has changed over the years, as well as who I'm teaching it to, I love helping our guys see the importance of math, as them to see themselves improve their skills in that area."
In addition to Math, Plummer also took on the added duty of teaching thermodynamics to the Power plant seniors several years ago and loved that as well.
If you have ever had a chance to watch via livestream a Williamson home game, you will know why Plummer is considered the "Voice of Williamson Athletics." He announced the football, soccer and lacrosse games over the years, and is known to be a bit excited when Williamson does well.
"I wouldn't say I was a homer, but I simply couldn't help myself when our guys did something well," laughed Plummer.
In addition to everything else, Plummer ran the clock for soccer, basketball and lacrosse home games as well. He also did the game statistics for football.
"We try to be as frugal as we can be at all times at Williamson, so I figured I could save the school a bunch of money by doing all those things myself. I felt like if we saved $100 by me running the clock, that was $100 more dollars we could spend on our guys and the teams. Plus, it gave me a front row seat," joked Plummer.
One of the things that has given Plummer the most joy over the years has been leading a weekly Bible Study each Thursday morning for the Williamson athletes as part of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA).
"I love sharing the Word of God with guys from an athletic perspective to show them how we can be great examples of the love of Christ on the field, as well as in the classrooms, the dorm, in shop, at work and with our families.
In total, Plummer lead over 1,000 Bible studies with the students during his time at the school.
"Sharing God's Word on Thursday mornings leading FCA was a real highlight of my week."
Plummer has spent the last 12 Summers in Kenya, helping to deliver compact water filter kits to villagers who are dying every day due to a lack of clean water. He also is heavily involved in serving the poor and marginalized community in Chester through his service as a board member for CityTeam.
"As a follower of Jesus, I try to think where he would be. He said in Matthew 25:40 that if you have done it to the lest of these, you have done it unto me. I always want to try to help the 'least of these' as much as I can. That is where my heart is.
As if all that wasn't enough, he is also currently also a member of the Board at the Rocky Run YMCA and the national Board of Directors for the United State Collegiate Athletic Association. He also is the Missions Committee chairman at his home church, Bethlehem Church, where he also leads a weekly Bible study for adults. He previously served for as a School Board member for The Christian Academy for 10 years.
In summarizing 36-year career, several questions were asked of him.
How did You End Up at Williamson?
That is a funny story. I was the tennis administrator at Widener University and wanted to get into collegiate athletic administration. A friend of mine, Bob Young, who was the Head Men's and Women's Track coach at Widener, called me to say he had applied for the Williamson athletic director job, but he wasn't interested in it. He said they were not going to provide him with a secretary and it didn't pay much. He then said he thought I would love it!
Another funny part was when then president Barry Schuler eventually offered me the job, he knew that I had given my life to Christ and was seeking to honor Him in all that I did. He also knew I had hopes of eventually becoming a missionary. He stated that Williamson would be good training for me, as there were 250 young men who needed to know the Lord, plus he said he was going to pay me like a missionary, so that would be good training for me!
Needless to say, I took the job and have been blessed beyond measure ever since.
Why Did You Stay?
When I first got here, Williamson was going to be my stepping stone. I was going to be here a year or two and move on up the ladder. The problem was I fell in love with the college and what it does for young men. It truly is the most remarkable school in the country. I could not be more blessed to be here.
I went from thinking I would be here a short time, to never wanting to leave. It is that special.
Question He Gets Asked the Most:
How do you do all you do, oversee the eight varsity sports, especially with football, manage two buildings, run the website, teach two classes and announce games, along with everything else, without any additional dedicated assistants or a secretary. I get asked that a lot.
As an example, there is a school in our region who only has three sports and yet has two full-time athletic department employees.
How do we do it? We have incredibly dedicated coaches who love the school and who care deeply about our guys. We have the best tandem of President (Mike Rounds) and Provost (Dr. Todd Zachary) in the world, and a wonderful group of employees who will help at the drop of a hat. That is how it all gets done.
On Fondest Memories:
There are way too many fond memories to even begin to recall them all. Obviously, the two national championships were phenomenal ones, but I would say that anytime we pulled off an upset and did something no one thought we could do, which happened a lot being as small as we are, those were incredible memories. Seeing our guys and our teams being recognized on a national stage, those are incredible memories. I'd say they are all my fondest memories.
On Head Athletic Trainer Sue Moffitt:
Seventeen years ago, the college made one of the wisest moves it ever made, in my opinion, in creating a full-time Head Athletic Trainer position. I then made one of the best decisions I ever made in hiring Sue. She has been amazing. She is not only the finest athletic trainer in the land, but she also has been an invaluable help to me along the way. I never would have been able to last as long as I have without her help and input.
On the Person He Thanks the Most:
My wife Debbie has been the greatest blessing in my life. I can never thank God enough for her. They say the only job harder than being a collegiate athletic director is being the wife of a collegiate athletic director. She has had to put up with my crazy schedule over the years and has always been there for me. The Bible says in the book of Proverbs that a wife of noble character is worth far more than rubies. She has been all of that and then some for me.
Why Retire Now?
As many people know, I started to struggle with short-term memory issues three years ago. Things really came to a head a year ago when, after a myriad of tests via the Neurology Department at the University of Pennsylvania I was diagnosed as having Alzheimer's disease. However, while that is what my Penn neurology team said, God said something different and he always has the final answer.
It is a bit of a long story, but so many people were praying for me over that time and I actually started to feel better, almost like a fog was lifting. Seven months after their initial diagnosis, I got re-evaluated and they found no signs of dementia or Alzheimer's! God totally healed me! The neurology team did warn me though, that they did not know what happened and because of that, they could not guarantee it would not happen again.
Having heard that, Debbie and I decided it was time to retire. I never want to be a burden to the school. I've always said I want to leave when I can, not when I have to. God made it clear that that time is now.
About the Current State of Things:
Our facilities are the finest they have ever been, we had an incredible year on the field and in the classroom and we have a wonderful coaching staff that are excited about next year. Now is the perfect time to leave.
About His Replacement:
Sue Moffitt, our current Head Athletic Trainer who has worked side by side with me for 17 years now, will take over as our new Director of Athletics. I can't think of a finer person to do so and carry the torch for Williamson athletics into the future. She is an incredible administrator but an even better person and will no doubt do a wonderful job.
On His Final Thoughts:
I always say that God could not have blessed me more if He tried. Being at Williamson for 36 years has been the greatest experience in my life and I will be forever be grateful to the Lord for allowing me to work with such special people over the years. I always say that God could not have blessed me more in my lifetime if He tried. I can only hope I have blessed our students, the alumni, my co-workers and everyone around me as much as they have blessed me.
I have always wanted to honor Jesus and honor Mr. Williamson in the job I was doing. I felt like if I was working in a way that truly honored Jesus, then Mr. Williamson would be honored as well. I can only hope that has been the case.
Plummer and his wife will retire to Ocean City, New Jersey, full-time on July 1.
