Artamenko Leaves Seward for NCAA D3 Lakeland

Jay Daubenberger

Liberal, Kansas – After five years as the leader of Seward County athletics, Dan Artamenko has stepped down as the Athletic Director for the Saints as he moves on to the next part of his career at the NCAA DIII level with Lakeland University as their new Athletic Director.

“I am deeply grateful for the incredible journey I had with this community” said Artamenko.  “Working alongside such dedicated coaches and colleagues has been an honor.  Thank you to President Brad Bennett for his ongoing support and it’s always Good To Be Green!”

In his five years in Liberal, Kansas, Dan Artamenko has built the Seward County athletics staff to what it is now, hiring every Head Coach for every team including the first ever Head Coach for both the Mens and Womens Soccer programs after Artamenko helped start those programs in 2023 along with the first ever eSports team for the Saints. He has seen multiple teams advance to the NJCAA National Tournament including the Mens Tennis team in 2022 winning the NJCAA National Championship in Tyler, TX. and Volleyball coming within one point of a championship of their own during his first season at the helm in 2020.

Artamenko has helped lead the athletics department through hectic times including the COVID-19 pandemic as he helped to guide the department through the cancellation of sport seasons and the closing of the campus. As a member of the COVID-Response team with Seward County he helped lead athletics through all efforts related to COVID while also having to make changes to staff in the hiring of new Head Coaches in the offseason.

In his final year at the helm in the 2023-24 season he saw the Seward County softball team record their best season since 2018 with multiple records being broken by the Lady Saints in the 2024 season while both Mens and Womens Tennis placed in the top six of the NJCAA National Tournaments. He also saw the Lady Saints womens basketball team bounce back from the prior year with a winning season under first year Head Coach Will Marchino with freshman Allie Myers placing top five in the NJCAA in rebounds per game. Mens Soccer in their first year of the program’s existence also found success as they finished the regular season one game over .500 while going undefeated in nonconference action.

“We all thank Dan for his time with Seward County over the past five years” said Seward County President Brad Bennett. “He helped guide our student athletes and set out programs up for success during his time with us and we wish him the best throughout the rest of his career”.