Name: Carter Caplan
Years as a Camper: 6 as a camper, 1 as a CILT
Current Profession and Title: Director of Women’s Basketball Operations, Arizona State University
Can you provide a brief overview of your career path and job responsibilities?
I majored in Sport Management with a double minor in Business Administration and Sport Coaching Leadership at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. The day I moved to Philly, I saw a flyer for a team manager position, I applied, got hired on the spot and worked my way up to Head Manager after a half a season.
I was lucky to be hired right out of college into my first Director of Basketball Operations position at Niagara University in Niagara Falls, New York. I was only there ten months before moving into the same position at the University of Delaware. After winning the conference championship and making the NCAA tournament, my head coach was offered the Head Coach position at Arizona State University and brought me with her as her Director of Basketball Operations.
In the operations role, I am on the coaching staff but my responsibilities are less on court and more focused on keeping the program afloat. I run the entire team schedule and logistics on the road. I schedule our non-conference opponents for each season and handle all the contracts for games. I am also the main liaison amongst all of the different departments such as Compliance, Marketing, Media and so much more. I am also currently working on our conference transition from the Pac-12 to the Big12 Conference!
Do you have any career advice for members of our Camp community?
The impressions you make on people are important. I was recruited by my now boss after hosting her team at Drexel. I was the one who made sure they were taken care of and she remembered me. She reached out to hire me first at the University of Delaware and then brought me with her on her staff at Arizona State University.
Be open to everything. Try something you might not necessarily like because you’re going to learn from it. It all helps you realize your vision and what you do want to do.
What do you believe have been some of your greatest personal and professional accomplishments?
When I was working at the University of Delaware, the Women’s Basketball Team won the Colonial Athletic Association’s Season Conference Tournament, and we made the NCAA Tournament.
How do the values or skills you learned at Camp show up in your everyday work and/or personal life?
Leadership and teamwork are huge takeaways. Camp also really helped me with organization and independence. Camp is a great place and there’s a ton of learning there. You put two cents into Camp and you get a dollar out, it’s invaluable.
Is there a person or a situation that had a huge influence on you while you were at Camp? How and why did they/it impact you?
David Dimenstien, Henry DeHart and Jon Vance were really influential. There were so many people who were so supportive. I became good friends with all the dining hall staff too. I was friends with Leo Cortez. Over the years, I was able to see his English improve while he helped me with my Spanish, and it was inspirational. He started in the dining hall and worked his way up to being a counselor and worked in Art Sports!
Favorite Camp meal: Sunday was the best. We’d have the dance on Saturday night and get to sleep in and have lazy Sunday breakfast and fried chicken dinner.
Favorite mess hall entry song: Love Story, Taylor Swift
Favorite special event at Camp: ACC Cup Challenge
