ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Missouri Western State University will begin a national search for its next Director of Sports Performance. Dr. Zach Fears has announced his resignation, effective June 30th.
Fears will transition to a full-time teaching role with the MoWest Health and Human Perofrmance
department where he will direct the program's strength and conditioning concentration.
"This is a bittersweet day," said MWSU Director of Athletics
Andy Carter. "Zach is a difference maker in our department. He has completely transformed our sports performance area with a cutting-edge approach in analytics, strength training and nutrition. Dr. Fears' work quite literally raised the bar in the area of sports performance and we thank him for everything he has done and will continue to do for MWSU."
Fears arrived at MoWest in the spring of 2023, and was instrumental in expanding the sports
performance area with the implementation of analytics technology across all athletics programs. Under
Dr. Fears also oversaw the creation and installation of the state-of-the-art Biozyme Nutrition Center
inside the strength training center. Fears earned his doctorate of Strategic Leadership from Liberty
University in 2025, paving the way for his new teaching position within MoWest.
"I have been extremely blessed to have spent the last 3+ years at MWSU," Fears said. "I am grateful for the coaches, athletes and the support from administration. I could not have asked for a better group of
people to work with."
Along with leading the HSES Exercise Science Strength and Conditioning Performance
concentration, Dr. Fears will spearhead the accreditation process, which will serve as a direct applied
learning approach to future MWSU graduates in the field of strength and conditioning.
"I am excited to welcome Dr. Fears to the College of Science and Health," said Dr. Joan Brewer, Dean of the College of Science and Health. "He is an outstanding choice to lead our Strength and Conditioning academic program. Our students will benefit from Zach's depth of experience and his strong commitment to applied learning. Just as he led meaningful, transformational change in athletics, I am confident he will bring that same vision and leadership to our academic program and build a lasting legacy here. I look forward to the future of this program and to continuing our partnership with athletics as we grow this new program.
"This is a win-win for MoWest as a whole," Carter said. "Dr. Fears new role will continue to benefit our department as he helps to build the next generation of coaches and professionals. Sports Performance is crucial to the success of our student-athletes, our teams and our department as a whole. We have tremendous momentum in this area and we are in an even better position to take the next step."
The search will begin immediately with a target start date set for July 1st.
