Titan Tuesdays is a new feature on FullertonTitans.com focusing on various areas of the athletics department. For the initial installment, FullertonTitans.com has profiled the new Assistant Athletic Director, Compliance Toni Rogers, who joined the Titans family in late October 2014.

Prior to her first interview at Cal State Fullerton, Assistant Athletic Director Toni Rogers had never ventured west of the state of Ohio. Born and raised in Rochester, N.Y., Rogers immediately figured out what her favorite aspect of living in California would be.

“The weather!” Rogers quipped. “My parents send me updates of the weather (back home) so I can’t be mad. I’m still getting used to people wearing coats when it’s 75 (degrees out) and I’m sweating like a northeastern kid. It’s gorgeous out here.”

Rogers assumed the role of Compliance Director at Cal State Fullerton in late October after spending the past three years in the same position at Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y. Prior to holding that position, Rogers spent time at Ohio State University as a senior intern in the compliance office from 2010-11 before joining the Buckeyes as a Compliance Coordinator from 2011-12. 

Rogers grew up in Rochester, playing soccer and basketball throughout high school and had plenty of experience traveling all over the Northeast, across Pennsylvania and into Ohio for tournaments. When it came time to attend college, Rogers chose to attend Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio, near Cleveland.

“I knew that when I went to college I wanted to be far enough away from my family that I was on my own, but also that I wasn’t so far that I couldn’t go home for the holidays. Cleveland was about a four-hour drive from my parents and the cities are very similar so that’s where the transition was easy.”

Rogers’ initial introduction to working in the compliance department came while she was doing her undergraduate work at Baldwin-Wallace.

“I knew that I wanted to work in athletics but I never really knew at what sort of capacity,” Rogers recalled. “My advisor in school, she actually knew me very well and before my senior year said; ‘Why don’t you check out compliance?’”

Rogers landed an internship in the compliance office at Cleveland State University soon after that and it turned out to be a perfect fit for her.

“Compliance is a little weird and the people who are drawn to it are different which I’ll admit,” Rogers said. “I think with me, just my skill-set, it really fit. You’re very standardized and you have to follow the rules and you have to be very organized.”

Soon after, Rogers interned at Ohio State where her position was eventually picked up full-time, which also gave her an opportunity to further advance her education.

“When I left Ohio State there where 12 full-time people just in the compliance office,” Rogers said. “When I went to Canisius, I was the only one, so obviously it was different.”

The move taught Rogers how to adjust as the issues she would deal with at Canisius differed from her previous stops.

“When you go to a school you have to see what issues those student-athletes are facing and what’s the most important thing for that department, and then you base what you do on that demographic,” Rogers said.

After three years back home, a new opportunity arose when the Compliance Director position opened up at Fullerton. Rogers quickly jumped at the chance to try something new and different.

“Coming out here when I interviewed was a pretty big step and just meeting Jim Donovan and the rest of the administration and seeing the passion they felt about where the program was going really drew me in and I really connected with that,” Rogers said. “Knowing that there are so many changes across campus and the athletic department, it seems like an exciting time. Within a couple of weeks we had two conference championships and the spring is also looking good so that really pulled me in as far as the mentality of the department and the excitement for the future.”

Along with the new professional opportunity, Rogers is looking forward to the opportunity to advance her education even more while she is a member of the Titans family, as well as making an impact in Titan athletics.

“I’m kind of a nerd and love going to school so I want to continue that,” Rogers said. “I was told years ago by one of my mentors that you never want to leave a place until you can look at something and say you’ve made a difference and I think my ultimate goal here is that before I leave I add something that is a tangible benefit for the department.”