The Citadel Athletics

Joe Varga is the director of strength and conditioning for The Citadel, rejoining the department in 2020 as the associate director of strength and conditioning before earning a promotion to his current position as director in January 2022.
 
He first started his strength and conditioning career in 2006 as an intern at the College of Holy Cross where he assisted the strength and conditioning staff for all Olympic sports. In 2007, he went to the University of Rhode Island, taking a job as an assistant strength and conditioning coach where his primary teams were track & field, men’s and women’s tennis, women’s crew, women’s gymnastics, and men’s and women’s swimming.
 
Deciding to pursue his masters, Varga left Rhode Island to come to The Citadel in 2008 where he became a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach. His primary responsibilities included assisting with football and baseball while also programming for track & field and men’s tennis.

Varga was later elevated to associate director of strength and conditioning in 2010. With the promotion came more responsibility in management over the graduate assistants, taking direct oversign of the men’s basketball program and the development of injury-modified programs for all student- and cadet-athletes.  He graduated with his masters in health, exercise, and sports science in 2011 from The Citadel.
 
Post-graduation, Varga then decided to take a job as Director of strength and conditioning for Olympic sports at Marshall university in 2011. He supervised the Olympic sport weight room while being the lead strength coach for men’s and women’s basketball. Varga stayed with Marshall till 2017, where he then moved onto Wagner college as an Assistant Athletic Director for Athlete Performance, football, and Men’s Basketball. With Wagner, he managed the entire strength and conditioning department and was the direct supervisor for sports medicine.
 
In 2019, Varga decided to move forward to DIA Sports Performance, taking the role as a Director of Sports Performance. He carried the responsibility of overseeing and managing all day-to-day activity within the facility. He was also the head strength coach for women’s basketball at Rollins College and assisted the CEO / owner of the DIA.
 
In December 2020, Varga decided to return to The Citadel, taking the job as Associate director of Strength & Conditioning before later securing promotion to his current position.
 
Varga obtained his bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Central Connecticut State University in 2006, his master's in Heath, Exercise, and Sports Science from The Citadel in 2011, and several certifications including: Strength and Conditioning Coach Certification, SCCC (CACCa), Certified strength and Conditioning Specialist, NSCA, and American Red Cross, Adult First/CPR/AED certificate.
 

Updated July 2026