SALINAS >> He arrived on the Hartnell College campus in 1981 as a blue-chip baseball player, who moonlighted in the fall as the football team’s quarterback.

Danny Teresa might argue that his legacy on campus started in 1962 when he came into the world, while his father Tony was a coach and an iconic figure on the Panther campus.

“I’ve been around here for a while,” Teresa said. “I used to run around here as a kid. Hartnell has been a part of my heart. I will miss the hustle. But I’ll carry the memories.”

Having been a part of the faculty for the last 35 years — the last 16 as the school’s athletic director, Teresa announced his retirement at the end of this month.

“It’s just time,” the 62-year-old Teresa said. “You can feel it. It’s not the end of my involvement. Just a new chapter. It’s been a great ride. I’ll just be in the stands now.”

Ivan Guerrero, who has spent the last 15 years as the Hartnell women’s soccer coach, will take Teresa’s spot on an interim basis for the upcoming season.

“He believed in what we were doing even though it might have been what he wasn’t used to,” Guerrero said. “The culture he built in the athletic department is like a big family. He had an open-door policy. He never micromanaged. He trusted each of us to do our job.”

Teresa has been a big influence in reshaping the Panthers’ athletic department, improving most of the facilities on the campus, while bringing back men’s and women’s swimming and adding women’s beach volleyball.

“I had a goal and a vision of what I wanted this department to be,” Teresa said. “I had a passion to lead it in the right direction. I feel as a department, we’ve accomplished a lot in 16 years.”

Teresa leaned heavily on the likes of former athletic directors Marv Grim and Alex Golomeic for direction, not afraid to seek out advice.

“Both were my mentors and instrumental in the direction of the department,” Teresa said. “My dad actually groomed Alex as a coach when he arrived in 1970s. It was like a full-circle moment.”

While Teresa has been around the campus his entire life, his impact as an athlete began in 1981, quarterbacking Hartnell to a Coast Conference football title.

Playing under his father in baseball, Teresa earned a scholarship to Michigan as a second baseman, where one of his teammates was future 12-time all-star shortstop Barry Larkin.

“Baseball and football were both my passions,” Teresa said. “My body, though, was getting beat up in football. I just felt I had a better chance to last longer in baseball.”

Teresa left Michigan when his father became ill, and was prepared to give up the sport until his dad convinced him to play his final season.

“I came home thinking that’s it,” Teresa said. “But dad wanted me to play one more year. So I did and pursued my teaching credential, with aspirations of becoming a coach.”

Teresa started his coaching career at his alma mater at North Salinas, before returning to his roots at Hartnell as their baseball coach and assistant football coach.

“Marv Grim pushed me to apply for the baseball job,” Teresa said. “Back then you coached two sports. I did that for 19 years.”

Feeling a need for a change, Teresa took the athletic director position on an interim basis in 2009 and spent the past 16 years running the athletic program.

“I was ready for a change after 25 years of coaching,” Teresa said. “I wanted a new challenge. It came along at the right time. It’s been a dream job. I haven’t worked a day in my life.”

During Teresa’s tenure, the baseball and softball fields have been reconstructed with turf fields, the track has been redone, along with a new maroon and gold turf practice facility for football and all grass soccer fields.

Both of the school’s gymnasiums are set to be remodeled next year, while Hartnell has one of the nicest Olympic-sized pools in California.

“Our facilities are state of the art,” Teresa said. “We have 15 sports, 315 student-athletes and three full-time athletic trainers.”

What Teresa seemed most proud of is the 90 percent ratio of athletes returning for their second year at Hartnell, as well as an 85 percent graduation rate among student-athletes.

“When you’re graduating 85 percent of student-athletes, you feel proud,” Teresa said. “It takes a village. If you hire the right people, you let your coaches flourish. You support them and enjoy the ride.”

Hartnell has had a massive run of success in women’s sports over the last decade, bringing home a state women’s soccer title in 2021 and four straight Northern California track and field championships between 2019-2023.

“I had never coached women’s sports before taking the job,” Guerrero said. “He trusted me and let me do what I told him I was going to do. I was one of his first hires. The success of the athletic program has been led by Danny. He made us feel like we were one unit. I’m just an extension of what he built here.”

The Panthers women’s cross-country program also captured three NorCal women’s titles during one stretch and was a state runner-up in 2021.

“I definitely feel Danny really understood the long history that (longtime track and cross-country coach) Gary Shaw created and allowed me to keep that going to what I needed for the program,” current Hartnell track and cross-country coach Chris Zepeda said. “I appreciate the support of my vision for the program. You’re only as good as your leadership.”

Hartnell’s volleyball team has reached the state playoffs 15 straight years, while the swim team produced a state champion in its second season back. In addition, four beach volleyball players earned scholarships this past spring.

“I feel we’ve checked off all the boxes of what we wanted to accomplish,” said Teresa, who will stay involved with the school’s Hall of Fame as a committee member.

Teresa will miss the coaches and faculty members he’s either worked with, tutored, or sought out advice. He’ll miss the energy that the students provided.

“The people I work with are the ones that made this special,” Teresa said. “The lives we have impacted is phenomenal. It’s a bittersweet goodbye. All I wanted to do was contribute. I feel fulfilled that the foundation is strong and the future is bright for Hartnell athletics.”