In a flurry of promotions, longtime head baseball coach Dino Nomicos has been named Skyline College’s new athletic director and interim dean of kinesiology, athletics, and dance, the school announced on Thursday.

As a result, Nomicos will hang up his spikes and walk away from coaching after 21 seasons leading the Trojans baseball program. Tony Brunicardi, a member of the coaching staff for nine seasons, will take over at the helm this spring.

“I’ve been with Skyline for 25 years so I’ve seen the department grow and all the coaches and faculty that have been hired,” Nomicos said. “And it’s special to me to be able to lead the department that I helped build –– and that I’m still here and I can be a mentor –– and get us through these tough times with COVID, doing whatever I can to help the student-athletes and the faculty and staff.”

Nomicos, 59, is taking over the athletic department from Joe Morello, who was stationed in the position for 15 years before recently being promoted to vice president of administrative services. This won’t be the first time Nomicos has entered the administrative field; he briefly held the same position of athletic director and dean during the 2005-06 school year but declined to reapply to focus on coaching.

As dean, Nomicos will be in charge of all the faculty, the class loads, and everything that has to do with the educational part of the position. As athletic director, he will be responsible for all the teams, their eligibility, COVID protocols safety and other day-to-day operations. As an administrator on duty, he’ll be present at all sporting events to make sure everything runs smoothly.

Before Nomicos took over in 2000, Skyline’s baseball program was ranked near the bottom percentile among all community colleges in California. At the time of his departure as head coach, the program transformed, going 419-358, making him the winningest head baseball coach in the school’s history. While winning on the field, the program has produced over 30 professional players under his guidance and leadership. The program still keeps tabs on many of them, an aspect the coaching staff has cherished.

“I think just building the program, graduating and getting the kids scholarships ––– I think that’s the most important thing for me,” Nomicos said. “We’ve had hundreds of kids that have graduated, that have gone through the program, that received scholarships, that have played professional baseball that are just great citizens now.”

Brunicardi, 36, is a 2003 graduate of Burlingame High School where he still holds the school’s record for career wins on the mound with 24. As a standout three-sport athlete, Brunicardi was an All-County athlete in baseball, basketball and football. He pitched for the Trojans in 2005 and 2006, notching a 3.91 ERA, four wins, and four saves. After a career-ending injury while pitching for Sacramento State, he accepted a role as the team’s bullpen catcher from 2008-10.

After stints at Yuba College and Cosumnes River College, Brunicardi ended up at Skyline in 2011 as the pitching coach but later moved into a more hands-on role as an assistant.

“I definitely have big shoes to fill with my new position,” Brunicardi said. “There is no replacing a legendary coach like Dino Nomicos but I am humbled, honored and excited about the opportunity to carry on the amazing tradition of the Skyline College baseball program.”

For now, Nomicos and Brunicardi still hold the interim title but both plan to permanently re-apply for the respective positions.

“I always say it keeps you young, being around the young student-athletes,” Nomicos said. “I think that’s what I’m going to miss but on the other hand, I still get to be involved by being at all the contests. Instead of concentrating on the baseball program, now I have the whole department to be able to help.”