Van der Merwe turns down Ferris State athletics director job; FSU hires CMU alumus

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Derek van der Merwe has been a part of the Central Michigan community since 1991.

He earned four varsity letters in football, lined up at offensive line for a Mid-American Conference championship team and has spent his past 13 years as an administrator in the CMU Athletics Department.

So when the CMU senior associate athletics director was named a finalist for the Ferris State athletics director position last week, he had some thinking to do.

And when push came to shove, the 37-year-old van der Merwe, one of the point men behind the construction of the state-of-the-art CMU Events Center, decided he would like to be part of that period.

“Take a look around our campus,” he said Thursday. “From the Events Center to the creation of a medical school and the tons of students that believe this is a great institution and that CMU should be a leader, I’m honored to be a part of a program that shares that same vision.”

A day earlier, on Wednesday, FSU announced the athletics director hiring of Mount Pleasant native Perk Weisenburger, who comes to Big Rapids after a five-year stint as associate director of athletics at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

Weisenburger graduated from CMU in 1979 and served as the school’s associate athletics director for external operations from 1989-1995.

“I think Ferris State hired the right man for the job,” van der Merwe said. “I think he’s an outstanding individual with a vast amount of experience.”

Glen Krupica, Northern Illinois deputy director of athletics, was the other finalist out of a nationally-conducted search of 77 candidates to replace retiring FSU athletics director Tom Kirinovic.

Van der Merwe’s official interview came on Aug. 17 and CMU Athletics Director Dave Heeke, while excited for van der Merwe’s potential opportunity, is pleased with his decision.

“He has a great passion for Central Michigan,” Heeke said. “He’s also a key member of my leadership and I’m glad to have him. This isn’t the first time someone’s sought him out to be an athletic director.”

And Heeke knows it won’t be the last.

“He’s going to have the opportunity to have a very good job in the future,” he said.

Van der Merwe is currently serving as the chair of the NCAA wrestling committee, and works directly with the Chippewas top 10 wrestling program, while overseeing the athletic department’s business, compliance, facilities and event management areas.

He said the chance to participate in the interview process was good in exploring other opportunities.

“At the end of the day, there is endless opportunity here,” van der Merwe said. “The people I work with, they have invested in me personally. They know it’s something I’d like to do one day, but I’m very proud of the flying ‘C’ and very honored to be a part of it.”