There’s a big change at the Golf Coaches Association of America.
Gregg Grost is out as CEO and executive director of the association, it was announced Thursday. Dustin Roberts, who has served in numerous positions for the GCAA since November 2002 and most recently COO, will assume the CEO and executive director position, effective immediately.
Grost has moved to the role of CEO Emeritus before transitioning to pursue other passions in golf, per the release.
“We are certainly grateful for Gregg Grost and his numerous contributions to the GCAA,” GCAA President Ryan Cabbage said in a release. “Our profession as college golf coaches and the Golf Coaches Association of America as a whole are both in a wonderful position due to his many years of hard work and dedication on our behalf. We now look forward to continuing to build on what Gregg has put in place with Dustin as our CEO.”
Grost was named executive director in September 2000 before being named CEO. He has a long association with college golf, beginning his playing career at McLennan Community College before graduating from TCU. Grost joined the coaching ranks as an assistant under Hall of Famer Dan Rogas at Lamar in 1981. Before moving to the University of Oklahoma in the spring of 1986, Grost guided Lamar to three Southland Conference Championships and earned the first of his two Dave Williams National Coach of the Year Award honors. He led the Sooners to the NCAA title in 1989, claiming his second National Coach of the Year award honors. He was inducted into the GCAA Hall of Fame in 2005.
During Grost’s tenure, the GCAA membership doubled, now numbering more than 850. The association also went from debt to solid financial footing under his stewardship. Along with the WGCA (Women’s Golf Coaches Association), the GCAA has grown its national convention attendance from fewer than 150 attendees to more than 340. Additionally, with partners the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation, Rolex and Nike, the Arnold Palmer Cup has grown from a competition between eight U.S. men’s college golfers versus their counterparts from GB&I to an event that includes men’s and women’s college golfers from around the globe.
“I am excited about the new stage of my life with my family while pursuing opportunities in the game which I have wanted to focus on since retiring from coaching,” Grost said. “I am equally excited that the GCAA National Advisory Board has chosen Dustin Roberts to step into the CEO position at this time. Since the day he was hired over 20 years ago, he has exceeded all expectations with tireless effort on behalf of our member coaches. He is simply the right person at the right time.”
The GCAA will officially celebrate Grost’s tenure and contributions to college golf at its December national convention.