Blueprint Magazine

09/24/2026

Christian Evans, Associate Athletic Director for Facilities and Event Management at The University of Texas at Arlington, oversees the Mavericks' athletic facilities, events and capital improvements.

His recent projects include a new video scoreboard and sound system at Maverick Stadium, and he's built a busy rental business that brings high school football, youth championships and marching band competitions to campus.

"We push facility rentals hard here. I'm probably doing something with rentals every day."

From building event operations systems at Dartmouth to driving facility innovation and community engagement at UT Arlington, Christian Evans is helping redefine how collegiate athletic facilities create value both on campus and beyond.

09/23/2026

Meet Jon Dilts, Director of Construction Management at Mansermar Development, LLC.

Dilts grew up on a family farm in Ohio, where the workday started before school and never really ended. Two days after graduating high school, he left for Georgia with nothing but a willingness to work, building a 33 year career from there, including stints at Lane Company, Hometowne Communities and Fogelman Management Group before joining Mansermar Development in March 2026.

Now he's building Mansermar's construction division from scratch, overseeing rehab and new construction across an organization that has preserved nearly 1,200 affordable housing units in six states since 2015.

"I am building their trust, learning to trust them while they're learning to trust me," Dilts says.

09/22/2026

Not every teardown-and-rebuild story moves this fast. In our latest feature, Sean Reed, Director of Store Planning & Development at Food City / KVAT Foods Inc., walks through a Chattanooga project that replaced a 40-plus-year-old grocery store with a fully modernized location, complete with a Gas N Go fuel center, in just three and a half months.

Reed's team, now more than 100 strong across design, construction, maintenance, and refrigeration, has grown right alongside the company as it expands into new Southeast markets like Huntsville, Alabama. His path started with a part-time job at Food City in high school and an AutoCAD class, and three decades later he's shaping how the company builds for the future.

Sean Reed’s 30-year journey at KVAT Foods reflects a commitment to building high-quality stores, strong teams, and community-focused growth across the Southeast.

09/14/2026

While other athletic departments are pausing facility projects to cover NIL and revenue sharing costs, Providence College is doing both.

Dave Longo, Associate Athletic Director for Facilities and Operations, has spent the past 18 months overseeing renovations across volleyball, softball, field hockey, and women's basketball, while also building two brand new varsity programs from scratch.

Adding men's and women's golf meant starting from zero: a partnership with a local golf course, two custom vans for team travel, and an entirely new on-campus space with locker rooms, a practice room with simulators, and an indoor putting green.

"We built all new on-campus team spaces and did everything first-class," Longo says.

His team also pulled off hosting first and second round NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament games in 2025, a feat that takes years of planning and flawless ex*****on behind the scenes.

"When it comes to NIL, all credit to our AD Steve Napolillo. He has been at the forefront of this," Longo says, crediting Providence's leadership for treating athlete investment and facilities investment as complementary, not competing, priorities.

It's proof that in the NIL era, departments don't have to choose between the two.

Associate Athletic Director Dave Longo is helping Providence College Athletics thrive in the NIL era by leading impactful facility improvements, managing new varsity sports infrastructure, and creating first-class experiences for student-athletes across the department.

09/10/2026

Aaron DiBucci, director of facilities and operations at Port Clinton City Schools, measures success with clean hallways before the first bell, safe athletic fields on Friday nights, and buildings that steadily improve year after year without fanfare.

Port Clinton City School District serves approximately 1,500 students across three primary buildings: a high school built in 1963, and a middle school and elementary school constructed in 2012. Over the past decade, significant upgrades have modernized the structure while preserving its character.

Behind these projects stands a facilities team that DiBucci views as central to student success. The department includes one senior maintenance technician, three additional maintenance/grounds staff, and 13 custodians across the district. “It is a thankless job,” DiBucci says. “People come to them with a problem, not with praise.”

Aaron DiBucci's journey from international sales to facilities leadership reflects the Port Clinton City School District's strategic investment in modernization, culture, and community-centered spaces that support students every day.

09/09/2026

Christopher Durkin learned on the job as a 10 year old working with his grandfather, a self-made landlord. He learned how to work a wrench and also how to treat tenants the right way. Now he's doing the same as VP of property management for Laurel Real Estate Services, LLC overseeing nearly a thousand apartment units across Pittsburgh.

Laurel is a Pittsburgh-based real estate investment and property management firm built on the principle that disciplined capital deployment means little without hands-on operational ex*****on to back it up.

“What each market expects, and values in housing, is different from what a property in a different neighborhood expects and values,” Durkin says of Laurel’s diverse and growing Tenant base. “It is crucial to listen to Tenant feedback and provide opportunities for anyone to share their thoughts on their property and what is important to them. Never assume.”

Christopher Durkin's journey from wrenches on his grandfather's 20 units to leading nearly 1,000 apartments proves that the best leaders never forget where they started.

08/31/2026

Under the leadership of Mark Schmitt, president of Trident Dock & Dredge, the company that has built a dominant presence across inland lakes in Michigan while preparing for a broader expansion into larger-scale marine construction.

Engineering innovation has always been central to that work. Trident designed its own systems to ensure durability and efficiency, including specialized equipment capable of driving pilings deep enough to endure winter conditions.

As president, Schmitt has focused on strengthening the operational infrastructure needed to expand into larger, more complex projects. A key component of that strategy has been investment in equipment, fleet development, and logistics.

Mark Schmitt, president of Trident Dock & Dredge, is building on his family’s legacy by expanding the company’s marine construction capabilities while staying rooted in craftsmanship, environmental stewardship, and disciplined growth.

08/28/2026

As Athletic Facilities & Operations Manager, Brian Araujo oversees event management, facility operations, rentals, student employees, and capital improvement projects for all 19 Division I sports at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Mid-major athletic departments operate in a fundamentally different financial reality than Power Four programs, and Araujo describes NJIT’s situation with clear-eyed candor. Budgets are tight, staffing is lean, and every decision carries weight.

NJIT has responded by targeting specific upgrades with high visibility: refinished tennis courts, a resurfaced arena floor, locker room upgrades and a new turf field that Araujo considers the capital project he is most proud of.

Brian Araujo turned a high school scheduling accident into a career managing 19 Division I sports at NJIT — and he's just getting started.

08/25/2026

As director of athletic facilities for Richland School District Two, Daniel Derrick leads the maintenance, development, and long-term planning of athletic venues serving five high schools, seven middle schools, 20 elementary schools, and several alternative campuses.

It is a sprawling operation that includes nearly 60 acres of natural grass fields, five synthetic turf stadiums, and a steady pipeline of capital projects — all in service of one straightforward objective.

“For our district, our main goal is to give the safest and most reliable facilities that we can,” he says.

Daniel Derrick has spent seven years building something most people never see — the fields, stadiums, and systems that give Richland School District Two's student athletes a safe place to compete and grow.

08/18/2026

Lehigh University is a private research institution in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, that fields varsity teams in the Patriot League. Its athletics department oversees a broad footprint of facilities across multiple campuses, supporting varsity competition, university functions, and third-party rental events.

Money, Director of Athletic Facilities and Events Allen Biddinger acknowledges, drives much of the conversation in college sports today, from television contracts to NIL packages. But he maintains that Lehigh’s coaching staff hasn’t let that shift change what they’re actually trying to accomplish with the young people in their programs.

“Money is the driver, but our primary motivation is preparing young men and women for the future,” he says.

From a paid internship in 1997 to overseeing every field, court, and facility on campus, Allen Biddinger has spent nearly three decades proving that Lehigh's success starts behind the scenes.