Job responsibilities: Wattenberg serves as the associate athletics director of sports nutrition and oversees all nutrition and performance matters of Virginia Tech student-athletes. His responsibilities include integrating performance nutrition into Virginia Tech’s comprehensive performance services, which includes providing nutrition education, individual counseling, menu development, body composition analysis and teaching student-athletes nutrition for life after sport. Additionally, he will manage the Student-Athlete Performance Center, a state-of-the-art dining facility for student-athletes.
Joined VT Athletics Staff: August 2, 2023
Prior to Virginia Tech: Wattenberg was previously the director of performance nutrition for the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, Nevada. While in this role, he oversaw four registered dietitians and four performance chefs in supporting UFC athletes through an interdisciplinary high performance care model.
Wattenberg joined UFC following six years in two nutrition-based roles at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. After becoming a registered dietitian in 2010, Wattenberg joined Cornell’s athletics department as the Big Red’s eating disorder specialty nutritionist in 2011. In 2013, he added the role of sports nutrition coordinator, holding both positions until April of 2017.
Before becoming a dietitian, Wattenberg was an assistant wrestling coach at Cornell (2004-06), followed by two years (2006-08) competing as a member of Team USA’s men’s freestyle national wrestling team.
Education: A native of Chico, California, Wattenberg earned his bachelors in human biology, health and society from Cornell University in 2003 and his masters in exercise physiology from Ithaca College in 2008.
Of Note: As an undergrad at Cornell, Wattenberg was a member of the Big Red wrestling program, where he was a two-time NCAA Division I All-American. He was inducted into Cornell’s athletics hall of fame in 2013.
Personal: Wattenberg is married to fellow Cornell alum Sarah Wattenberg, who most recently was assistant athletics director of sport performance at UNLV. The couple has a daughter, Payton, and a son, Landon.
Joined VT Athletics Staff: August 2, 2023
Prior to Virginia Tech: Wattenberg was previously the director of performance nutrition for the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, Nevada. While in this role, he oversaw four registered dietitians and four performance chefs in supporting UFC athletes through an interdisciplinary high performance care model.
Wattenberg joined UFC following six years in two nutrition-based roles at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. After becoming a registered dietitian in 2010, Wattenberg joined Cornell’s athletics department as the Big Red’s eating disorder specialty nutritionist in 2011. In 2013, he added the role of sports nutrition coordinator, holding both positions until April of 2017.
Before becoming a dietitian, Wattenberg was an assistant wrestling coach at Cornell (2004-06), followed by two years (2006-08) competing as a member of Team USA’s men’s freestyle national wrestling team.
Education: A native of Chico, California, Wattenberg earned his bachelors in human biology, health and society from Cornell University in 2003 and his masters in exercise physiology from Ithaca College in 2008.
Of Note: As an undergrad at Cornell, Wattenberg was a member of the Big Red wrestling program, where he was a two-time NCAA Division I All-American. He was inducted into Cornell’s athletics hall of fame in 2013.
Personal: Wattenberg is married to fellow Cornell alum Sarah Wattenberg, who most recently was assistant athletics director of sport performance at UNLV. The couple has a daughter, Payton, and a son, Landon.