Van Zanic was named Director of Athletics at Geneva College in the summer of 2013. Prior to that appointment, Zanic spent 15 years serving as the school’s Director of Sports Information. Five years into his tenure as the school’s SID, Zanic took over the women’s softball program as the head coach and will enter his 23rd year at the helm of that program this academic year.
During the past eleven years, Zanic has helped lead some significant additions to the Geneva athletic department including the addition of six varsity sports. The Golden Tornadoes started competing in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference in the sports of men’s and women’s indoor track and field, men’s tennis, and men’s and women’s golf all within the last several years. Additionally, the men’s volleyball team opened varsity play in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference four years ago, and Geneva is adding women's lacrosse in the spring of 2025.
Soon after Zanic began his tenure as Geneva’s AD, the school signed off on its first exclusive apparel deal with BSN Sports and Under Armour, which has provided a new look to Geneva’s 19 varsity athletic programs. In 2016, Geneva’s athletic department opened its doors to its new Athletic Hall of Fame. Over 100 former student-athletes, coaches, administrators, and supporters have been inducted as the first members of the athletic hall of fame. The newly formed Geneva athletic annual fund was adopted in 2019, which is also supported through the athletic department’s annual golf outing that started in 2018 and has become the signature event on the athletic alumni calendar each spring.
A new athletic website was unveiled in 2019 as Geneva signed on with Sidearm Sports to give the school a fresh new digital appearance, which now includes upgrades to the school’s live streaming capabilities allowing for some of the best sports coverage in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.
Geneva boasts some of the finest athletic facilities in the conference with upgrades to the Merriman Athletic Complex and track, the Conrady softball complex, as well as a new gym floor inside of Metheny Fieldhouse. Reeves Field received a face lift in the summer of 2019 with the installation of a new synthetic surface that was extended to meet NCAA regulations for both men’s and women’s soccer. The Januzzi tennis courts were also resurfaced last summer, and new lights will be installed this year to allow for more extensive practice opportunities for men’s and women’s tennis.
“We have more student-athletes on Geneva’s campus than in other time in the school’s history. With over 400 student-athletes, it is a priority for all of us to provide the best athletic experience possible for each of those young men and women,” says Zanic. “I’m extremely proud of the progress we have made as a department over the past several years. We have a great group of coaches that continue to mentor our young men and women through the ministry of athletics.”
Zanic was recently promoted to Geneva’s Chief Athletic Officer in addition to his Director of Athletics title and head softball coach. On the field, Zanic has racked up 534 career victories, the most in school history, along with two PAC Championships.
Zanic returned to his alma mater six years after graduating and has never looked back. “It is hard to imagine that I first stepped foot on Geneva’s campus in the summer of 1988 and that I have had the opportunity for all these years to live out my dream. Getting the opportunity to coach so many incredible young women and now to have the great thrill of coaching my own daughter is something that not very many people get the chance to do. I am truly blessed.”
Zanic and his wife Becky reside on College Hill. They have two children, Zach and Lexi, and welcomed their first grandchild (Zeke) last year.
