Riverside, Calif. (Aug. 22, 2014) -- Sports and recreation has always been an important part of Tyler Cox's life. It will continue to be in his new job as director of recreation programs at California Baptist University.

Cox attended CBU, played soccer, majored in kinesiology and graduated in 2001. He worked for Special Olympics Southern California and for Riverside Parks and Recreation Department. He returned to CBU to earn his master's degree and then moved to Portland in 2005 to work for Special Olympics Oregon coordinating sporting events.

Now he is back in Southern California and at CBU, returning for the family feeling of the university and for actual family, he said. He and his wife, Debbie (nee Wanamaker) ('01), have two children, Lucas, 3, and Sydney, 1.

As director, he will oversee intramurals and outdoor adventures. Intramurals include flag football, volleyball, dodgeball, soccer and ultimate Frisbee. Some activities involve leagues, others entail tournaments for a week or a day. Outdoor adventures include surf camp and trips for climbing, snowboarding and hiking. The adventures program offers rentals such as tents, surfboards, snowboards and footballs. The program also will be getting a new assistant director of recreation programs and a program coordinator for outdoor adventures.

"What we want to do is make sure we reach as many students as possible," Cox said. "Not everyone played basketball or football growing up and it's not what they're comfortable with, but they love hiking or they love fishing or they love camping. So we want to make sure there are opportunities for whatever the students are interested in.

"The more involved you are on campus, the better your experience is going to be," Cox said. "It's going to help you in the classroom, it's going to help you personally. The more interactions they can make and the more connections they can make with students, especially on campus, the more they're going to feel like the CBU family. And that's what we want. We want everyone to feel a part of the family."