BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Preslav Djippov was named head coach of the most recently added men’s varsity water polo team, Westcliff University.
Westcliff announced earlier this week the school’s intention to start men’s and women’s varsity programs beginning in the Fall of 2020. Former Long Beach State University athlete and 2018 graduate Raney Remme will lead the women’s program and assist Djippov with the men’s team.
Located in Irvine, Calif., Westcliff University was accepted in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) on March 31 earlier this year. Currently, the NAIA includes 250 member schools across 21 conferences, including the California Pacific Conference, which Westcliff will join alongside fellow newcomer Park University in the Fall of 2020.
“Westcliff is a small private university but we also have some available scholarships and provide financial help,” notes Djippov. “I think that many kids from outside California might be interested in joining our program.”
Having experience at both the high school and collegiate club levels, Djippov will look to build the program.
The men’s club coach at the University of Southern California during the Fall of 2016, he took over the Columbia University, women’s team in November 2015 and led the squad to the 2017 New York Division Championship prior to switching coasts back to California.
While coaching at Columbia, Djippov also oversaw the junior and senior water polo teams at Greenwich Aquatics Club in Greenwich, Conn. from November 2016 until August 2019.
After relocating to the West Coast, he accepted coaching positions with Canyon Crest Academy and Del Mar Water Polo club in San Diego during the Fall of 2019.
Prior to emigrating to the United States in 2015, Djippov was the assistant coach of Water Polo Club Cherno More-1948 in Varna, Bulgaria.
A graduate from the University of Economics in Varna, Bulgaria, with a Bachelors Degree in Statistics and Econometrics along with a Masters Degree in Finance, Djippov was a member of the Bulgarian Senior and Junior National water polo teams and won the Bulgarian National Championship in both 2009 and 2010.
About Westcliff University: Founded in 1993 with a focus on online education in the fields of business and education, Westcliff University moved to a new campus in 2018, located in the Von Karman Creative Campus area of Irvine, Calif., which expanded the university’s campus space more than four times larger than the previous facility. The campus is centered by the main building housing classrooms, faculty offices, administrative services, and study areas as well as a multipurpose building for athletics and recreation, career fairs, and other events. The schools campus is historic as it marks the first large-scale creative office community in Orange County. Westcliff also holds in-person classes at Plaza Tower in Cerritos, Calif., housed in Plaza Tower.
The university offers various online and hybrid programs focused in business, information technology and education fields, programs include: one-year certificates, bachelor’s degrees, post-baccalaureate certificates, master’s degrees and doctorate degrees. Overall, Westcliff offers 21 areas of study and confers degrees from two colleges. The university is classified as a Special Focus Four-Year: Business & Management School by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The university has an 10-to-1 student-faculty ration and offers bachelor’s degrees and master’s degrees through its two colleges and one law school – Western State College of Law.
International students make up 89% of the university’s undergraduate enrollment with California residents accounting for approximately nine percent of the student population. 98% of undergraduate enrollment are categorized as full-time. 81% of undergraduate are registered in online programs, 1% enrolled in hybrid programs and 18% enrolled in on-campus programs. Graduate curriculum is spread across the programs more evenly with 37% enrolled in online programs, 47% enrolled in hybrid coursework and 16% in on-campus programs.
For more information on the program, contact Preslav Djippov at preslavdjippov@westcliff.edu.