Val Belmonte serves as Executive Vice President in DHR’s Chicago office. Mr. Belmonte’s specialty areas are in the sports, education and not-for-profit practices. 

Prior to this role, Mr. Belmonte was Vice President for Athletic Marketing and External Relations at Quinnipiac University. In this role he was a member of the president’s cabinet and oversaw Quinnipiac’s 21-sport NCAA Division One Athletic Department and all of its business-related initiatives, including the recently constructed $52 million TD Banknorth Sports Center. Belmonte’s long and accomplished career in sports administration and coaching spans three decades at the collegiate, national and international levels. Prior to joining Quinnipiac in November 2005, Belmonte served as executive director of U.S. Figure Skating in Colorado Springs, Colorado. There he oversaw the day-to-day operations and guided all strategic policies, programs and objectives while helping U.S. Figure Skating maintain its standing as one of the nation’s fastest growing amateur sports federations.

In February 2008 Mr. Belmonte was inducted into the Illinois Hockey Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2007. Belmonte joined such hockey luminaries as 25-year NHL veteran Chris Chelios, the late Chicago Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz, and U.S. Olympic gold medalist Cammi Granato.

Mr. Belmonte spent four years as athletic director at Union College in Schenectady, New York, ending in 2004. During this period, Union College was consistently ranked in the top 15 percent of all NCAA Division III institutions through the United States Sports Academy Directors’ Cup standings, representing an increase of 54 percent (jumping to No. 51 from No. 216 out of 350 schools).

Prior to Union College, Mr. Belmonte served as director of coaching at USA Hockey in Colorado Springs from 1991-2000. In this role, he managed the NGB’s Coaching Education Program and was responsible for procuring numerous grants on behalf of USA Hockey. He has authored or edited 15 coaching education manuals and five instructional videos. Belmonte also was named team leader for the 1998 U.S. Men’s National Team at the IIHF World Championship in Zurich, Switzerland.

After leaving USA Hockey, Belmonte continued to be an integral facet of the organization by serving on the executive committee as secretary and as a member of the board of directors. He also was named chairman of the Strategic Planning Committee, and served as a member of the Playing Rules Committee and The USA Hockey Foundation Board of Directors.
Belmonte was also a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Coaching Committee, USOC High Performance Advisory Committee and American Red Cross/USOC Sports Safety Committee.

Belmonte began his college hockey coaching career in 1975–76 as an assistant coach with the University of North Dakota, and the next season joined his alma mater, the University of Illinois- Chicago, before becoming an assistant coach at Harvard University in 1979. He returned to Illinois-Chicago as the head coach in 1982, leading the Flames to six Central Collegiate Hockey Association playoff appearances. He was named the CCHA Coach of the Year in 1986–87.

Belmonte holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois-Chicago and a master of education degree from the University of North Dakota.