TOWAMENCIN – Effective Monday, January 12, North Penn High School will have a new Athletic Director. Bill Bartle, current Activities Director and Athletic Manager will take the reins from longtime AD Don Ryan, who will retire this Friday.

Bartle, also a well known name in the swimming community at North Penn, is certainly no stranger to the ins and outs of the athletic department. Bartle currently oversees the North Penn Athletics Booster Club and manages issues regarding team booster accounts and Title IX compliance, an issue at the forefront of high school and collegiate athletic departments nationwide.

Bartle is a 1978 graduate of North Penn, where he was also an All American swimmer. Following high school, Bartle swam for the University of Maryland. He began his career at North Penn in 1994 as a Health and Physical Education teacher and served as the Knights boys swim coach from 1994-95 until 2000. He also has in 18 years as the girls water polo coach, including his most recent state championship this past fall.

“Athletics has always been a major part of my life. I am very excited to have the opportunity to help individuals do the same things I have done here in North Penn Athletics,” said Bartle.

For North Penn, the new appointment means a big change for an office that has become synonymous with three letters, D-O-C. Don “Doc” Ryan has served as North Penn’s AD since 1981, and Bartle knows what it means to fill the shoes of a legend.

“You can’t replace an individual like Don Ryan. Hopefully I can perform the job as well as Doc has over the years,” reflected Bartle.

North Penn will bid a farewell to Ryan during Friday night’s basketball games at North Penn, and the new era in athletics leadership will begin three days later.