Director of Athletics

Lawrence University seeks an Athletic Director who (1) fosters high standards of integrity, athletic excellence, and academic success; (2) is committed to the growth and advancement of the university (3) is able to hire and direct coaches who are committed to student success on and off the playing field;
4) is able to develop excellent relationships with both internal and external constituents; and (5) has strong management and fiscal skills.

The Director of Athletics is responsible for the successful leadership of all facets of Lawrence University Athletics – the development, planning, implementation, and evaluation of all athletics activities. The Director leads and manages a dynamic department with approximately 40 full and part-time staff, 24 varsity sports, with over 400 scholar-athletes. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, providing vision and an athletics leadership voice to our campus community;

recruitment, retention, and development of coaches and other athletics personnel; budget leadership and management; growing alumni engagement and enhancing fundraising; working with our regional community partners; and overall administration of a NCAA Division III athletics department in accordance with NCAA.

The Director of Athletics provides support to other areas of the university during the implementation of initiatives related to the College’s strategic plan and strategic investments. Reporting to the Vice President for Student Life, the director is responsible for promoting the University as an engaging community and fostering an environment of excellence and success. The director is a visible role model for Lawrence’s values, actively building relationships within the Appleton and greater Fox Valley communities.

Our athletics department is at an inspiring and pivotal moment in our history. In this ever-changing landscape of academically challenging small liberal arts institutions, Lawrence University embraces the importance of providing a high-quality scholar-athlete experience.

Growing our programs through the development of our coaches, students, and other athletics personnel both on the field and off is at the core of the expectations for the next athletics director. With a hardworking core of athletics personnel and student-athletes, it is an exciting time as the last four years have seen roster growth, incredible support and resources from the President and the administration, and success in competition that has increased the reputation and expectations for our athletics teams.

The successful candidate should be ready to capitalize on recent successes and continue the hard work progressing towards our goal of being highly competitive across all of our programs. In addition, the director works closely with the admission office to establish a high-level recruitment strategy to ensure the recruitment of Lawrentian scholar-athletes. The director also partners with the alumni and development and communications offices to further departmental and programmatic goals around fundraising and reputation.

• 10+ years of professional work experience in higher education athletics; leading and managing athletics operations, facilities, events, recruitment, compliance, and assessment of collegiate athletics programs.
• A minimum of five years of progressive leadership experience in collegiate athletics administration or a closely related field and a bachelor’s degree is required; a master’s degree and collegiate coaching experience are strongly preferred.
• The successful candidate will possess a comprehensive understanding of intercollegiate athletics administration, student-athlete development, facilities management and resourcing, NCAA compliance within a Division III environment, and the role of fundraising in supporting strategic and operational objectives.
• Knowledge of best practices related to athletics and NCAA Division III is highly preferred.
• Demonstrated collaborative management approach; ability to provide leadership and supervise staff with a collaborative and relational approach; a track record of outstanding management, open in style, and comfortable in a non-hierarchical…