After being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2014, Dante Vasquez took a unique perspective on the terrible news. Instead of shying away from his former self and letting the condition define who he was, Vasquez saw the moment in his life as a blessing in disguise, shaping him into the man he is today.
“Going on twelve years now and it’s been a freaking rollercoaster of a ride, but I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Vasquez said. “I was blessed to be diagnosed with type one diabetes and not many people can say that, but I’m blessed.”
Despite Vasquez’s diagnosis, his condition did not play a role in his decision to pursue exercise science. His drive for helping others in the athletic realm has always been a passion for him, as in 2019, he started his own page on Instagram (@vasquez.performance) to document his athletic journey. The page helped him make connections and assist some young athletes to grow just like himself.
It was never about the clicks and likes for Vasquez. The goal was to help others.
“If I can help some athlete in high school or college or even just a normal person in the world, I am going to post it,” Vasquez said.
That page has now grown into 15,000 followers today, while still documenting his journey now as the assistant director of strength and conditioning for the University of Oklahoma football team.
It all started on Alden Street where Vasquez not only exceeded in the classroom, but also on the football team. The Massachusetts native played with the Pride for four years, and was named captain on the best team in school history his senior season, leading Springfield to a NEWMAC championship and an elite eight appearance, where the team fell short to the eventual Division III national champion, North Central.
Vasquez credits a lot of his success to the people at Springfield and how they molded him into who he is today.
“Coach (Mike) Cerasuolo was able to get 110 kids from different backgrounds and upbringings to contribute to one common mission: to win football games,” Vasquez said. “Everyone at Springfield really cares about your success. They want to see you win. Not a lot of places want to see you win. They claim they want you to succeed at their university, but Springfield lives the mission. They go out of their way to see that their students are successful and it makes it hard to fail at Springfield. I’m not a great student but I did pretty well during my four years because the people there invest in your craft and what you want to do. It’s up to you to get the job done”
Vasquez went through all of this while managing insulin levels through Cheney Dining Hall and student union on campus. It wasn’t the best, but it’s what was at disposal for Vasquez. This is the case for many things that he has dealt with throughout his life as he has consistently played the hand he’s been dealt. Vasquez credits it to how he has become a routine-oriented person and how he operates on a day-to-day basis.
“It made me very aware of my routine and my process to get to Saturday and perform,” Vasquez said. “Whether it was the Dunkin Donuts at the Union or some pasta at Cheney, it added some extra steps along the way to being a collegiate athlete. Yeah, it made it tougher, but at the end of the day, it molded me into a responsible, routine driven, and very prepared human being”
Being a strength and conditioning coach at one of the nation’s most prestigious football programs is an impressive feat for someone who graduated college only two years ago. Hailing from a smaller school in the Northeast to now working with a historic SEC football program is impressive, but for Vasquez, this is the third Power Four football program he has been with since his time on Alden Street.
In his junior year at Springfield, Vasquez was given the opportunity to intern with the University of Kansas, where he learned about the operations of a large-scale football team and about athletic performance for many great coaches. Then, completing post-grad work, Vasquez found his way to working with the University of Minnesota Twin Cities as a strength and conditioning coach. This was not even at the top of his accomplishments. During the late summer of 2025, Vasquez earned the opportunity to intern with the Buffalo Bills in training camp.
“It wasn’t really a ‘whoa’ moment like people would think it was,” Vasquez said. “Like, ‘Oh my god, you work with Josh Allen?’ It was a step of reassurance that I’m here for a reason, so when I got that opportunity, even if it was just for five weeks of training camp, I was able to learn how they operated at the NFL level with grown men making millions of dollars. It was only five weeks but I learned a lot”
Now that many former collegiate athletes aren’t playing, they would lay off the gas and leave it up to the guys that are still in the fight. However, even though he is not playing on Saturdays anymore, Vasquez still brings the juice every day for his athletes.
“No matter the view or how far away you stand from the football field, you are always in the fight because you’ve been through what they’ve been through,” Vasquez explained. “I still do my lifts and workouts. I’m still going through it and going through it everyday with my guys and bringing the energy every day. The only thing I can’t do is take somebody out on Saturday and lay some boom on somebody, but I’m on the sideline lifting my guys up through the good and the bad times, so I do feel like I’m still in the fight. I just can’t bring the violence anymore.”
As someone who has done so many great things in applied exercise science, his main message for others in the field is that “you get out what you put in.” If one has the will and passion for it, then put your head down and work. This directly connects to his “all in mentality that he carries himself with day in and day out.
“Everyone has their battles and has been brought up a different way and to overcome the stuff I’ve had to,” Vasquez said. “I’ve had to be all in to overcome that. Then, it transitioned into sport. With football, you have to be all into this game or it’ll expose you and then into being a coach because if not, your players will expose you. You can’t fake this, you can’t fake the energy and the passion especially at this level. That mentality goes into all areas in life. You have to be all into your relationship with your girlfriend, your relationships with your family, your classes if not you’re going to flunk out. Be all in to taking the trash out. Don’t just put it next to the dumpster, put it in there. You see it a lot on posters, but it’s something I really live by and it’s got me to where I am today.”
After achieving success both as an athlete and a coach, Dante Vasquez now faces the question of what comes next in his career.
“I like to be where my feet are,” Vasquez said. Coach Ceraculo taught me that. I like to jump ahead and that’s been one of my greatest weaknesses. Right now with my two feet in the cement, I’m going into my house and what’s next is beating Texas. But, career wise, I’m focused not on rebuilding OU (University of Oklahoma) because OU is already great, but I want to be a part of the process of bringing a national title back to Norman, Oklahoma.”
Vasquez delivered on his goal, as Oklahoma went into Dallas and upset No. 1 Texas in the country this past Saturday, 27-24 in overtime. For Vasquez, it’s no surprise given his passion and work ethic that all started at Springfield College.