Toro Coaches Saddened by the Loss of Guerrero : Colleges: Athletic director, who will take a job at UC Irvine next month, has earned respect of the staff in his nine years at Dominguez Hills.

Coaches and athletic department staff members at Cal State Dominguez Hills say Dan Guerrero will be greatly missed when he leaves for his new post as UC Irvine athletic director next month.

Guerrero, the Toros’ athletic director for five years, was selected from among nine candidates to fill the position that was left open when Tom Ford resigned in July.

Greg Bistline, Dominguez Hills’ associate athletic director since 1989, is expected to be Guerrero’s successor.

“All the coaches I’ve talked to are very sad,” said Marine Cano, the Toros’ men’s and women’s soccer coach since 1984. “They’re very happy for him but very sad that he is leaving.”

Dave Yanai, in his 16th year as Toro men’s basketball coach, said: “I think across the board all the athletes and for sure the coaches are going to feel the loss of Dan Guerrero. He’s going to be awfully difficult to replace.”

Guerrero, 41, is a former UCLA baseball standout who obtained a degree in history from that school in 1974. He earned a masters in public administration at Dominguez Hills in 1982.

He served as Dominguez Hills associate athletic director under Sue Carberry from 1983 to January, 1988, and was named athletic director when Carberry left to pursue other interests.

“It will be very difficult to leave a staff that has been so loyal and so dedicated to making this program better,” Guerrero said. “To say it’s bittersweet does not do justice to the word. I gave nine years of my life and heart and soul to Dominguez Hills.”

Van Girard, the Toro women’s basketball coach, says Guerrero was known to work extra hours in order to give each program personal attention.

“The man is more than just an A.D.,” Girard said. “He takes a personal interest in the kids and it shows. He’s always been a positive force here. It’s due to his direction that programs here have been able to make the progress they have made. He’s very much a major factor in the growth and development of the university.”

Under Guerrero, the school won its only NCAA championship in 1991, when the women’s soccer team beat Sonoma State, 2-1, for the Division II title. He has also served on two prestigious NCAA committees, the Men’s Committee on Committees and the Division II National Baseball Championships Committee.

Cano says Guerrero is not only an excellent administrator, but a good friend as well.

“How he helped us win a national championship I don’t have enough time to tell you,” Cano said. “This man is very good, as a person and as an A.D. He’s one A.D. that will role his sleeves up and get dirty to get to work.

“The best thing about Dan is his personality. He knows every athlete’s name because he takes a divine interest in everybody personally and that is second to none.”