PCCC Welcomes Tiago Dos Santos as Athletics Director

Passaic County Community College (PCCC) is pleased to welcome Tiago Dos Santos, as our new Director of Athletics.  A Passaic County resident, Mr. Dos Santos brings to his new role, over 15 years of college administrative experience, including stints as assistant director of athletics and as head men’s soccer coach at Essex County College.

“I’m very excited to be at PCCC, as we look to enhance the athletics experience here for students and provide an opportunity for Passaic County Residents to further their academic careers through sports,” said Mr. Dos Santos, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from Berkeley College and a master’s in sports management from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

 Tiago Dos Santos in his time as men’s soccer coach at Essex County College.  
(Photo courtesy of Tiago Dos Santos)

Since starting at PCCC last April, the new athletics director has already met with student athletes and charted a course for the next five years, establishing some early priorities that include improving resources, such as the locker room and fitness center, as well as updating the gymnasium.

Another priority on his list is to ensure that the student-athletes maintain their academic performance standards. “They must be full-time students and maintain a 2.0 GPA to compete in college athletics, therefore making academics an important piece to the puzzle here,” said Mr. Dos Santos. “We will look at allocating time for tutoring, when necessary, and study hall, as well as other ways to make sure the athletes keep up with their academics.”  

He also encourages the athletes to have a well-rounded student life at PCCC. “Athletics is such a small portion of what they do here,” said Mr. Dos Santos. “If athletics is all they take with them when they leave PCCC, then we didn’t serve them well. We want them to be involved in clubs, organizations like SGA, and to have the full college experience.  

Born in Portugal, Mr. Dos Santos’ family immigrated to the U.S. when he was very young. He grew up in Union, New Jersey, but returned every summer to visit relatives and friends in his native country. “I enjoyed having the experience of another culture and loved playing soccer with my friends there.” 

Absorbing the passion that most of the sports world has for soccer, Mr. Dos Santos has played other sports in his career, but soccer remains his all-time favorite.  He even once thought about turning pro but ultimately followed a different path in sports.

“I started coaching part-time while searching for my career niche. Before I knew it, that part-time job led me into 10 years of coaching at the youth level.”

After more than a decade of successful high school coaching, recruiting, and mentoring, Mr. Dos Santos decided to re-focus his career on sports management, a decision that was inspired by his infant son.

“Coaches are on the road a lot, traveling to games or to meet potential recruits. Once I became a father, I wanted a career where I could come home and have time with my family.”

Fortunately, the new dad won’t need to tame his love of sports at home. His wife, a second-grade teacher, also grew up around sports life. Plus, “she’s from a big Yankees family,” said Mr. Dos Santos, who now looks forward to the time when he can teach his son, now 10 months old, to play soccer.

A longer-term goal at PCCC, he says, is to expand the varsity sports offered here, especially to include soccer. Currently, PCCC maintains teams for men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball.

“I know the College previously had a men’s soccer team, and a number of students I’ve talked to expressed an interest in seeing that sport return,” he said, noting that the re-opening of Paterson’s historic Hinchcliffe Stadium – which hosts pro football, baseball and soccer games – gives impetus to that plan.

As the 2025-2026 academic year opens with strong performances from the women’s volleyball team, we wish Mr. Dos Santos success and fulfillment at PCCC as he looks forward to his first year of cheering, “Go Panthers!” 

 Written by Linda Telesco
Photo of Tiago Dos Santos by Page Saunders