Vilade resigns, accepts VP post at Plano academy

University Athletic Director and head baseball coach James Vilade announced his resignation March 1, effective early June.

Vilade will become the vice president of business and player development for Premier Baseball Academy in Plano, which is owned and operated by Logan Stout, a former player of Vilade’s.

James Vilade

He also plans serve as an associate scout for the Florida Marlins. “It’s something that has been mentioned in the past,” Vilade said. “There have been some recent needs for his company which led to the job opportunity.”

Vilade came to the University in 2003 and started what is now a nationally acclaimed baseball team. University officials promoted him to athletic director in 2008, to replace Dr. Howard Patterson, the University’s vice president of student affairs.

The Patriots, under Vilade’s leadership, are currently 210-60 and own four American Southwest Conference East Division titles and one ASC championship, along with a trip to the NCAA West Region tournament last season.

“It’s an easy decision when it comes down to family,” Vilade said. “There is a lot of work that goes into just the position of baseball coach, and when you add AD to it … it takes too much time away from my family to do both.”

“I think the things we’ve been able to do since I’ve started as AD and the things we’ve been about to do in baseball since 2004 have been great, because we’ve surrounded ourselves with great people,” he said.

Vilade also served as a hitting instructor for the Texas Rangers AA affiliate, the Frisco Roughriders, in 2007 and 2008 during the summer, and worked extensively with Rangers’ current shortstop Elvis Andrus.

University officials plan to begin their search for Vilade’s replacement this month.