Director of Athletics

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About Wofford College

Director of Athletics

Nationally known for the strength of its academic program, outstanding faculty, study abroad
participation and pre-professional preparation, Wofford College was founded in 1854 and remains
committed to being a premier, innovative and distinctive national liberal arts college. The college sits on

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About Wofford College

Director of Athletics

Nationally known for the strength of its academic program, outstanding faculty, study abroad
participation and pre-professional preparation, Wofford College was founded in 1854 and remains
committed to being a premier, innovative and distinctive national liberal arts college. The college sits on
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the site of its original campus in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and 1,875 undergraduates call the college
home.

Wofford College scores among top national liberal arts colleges in the country, ranking 59th in the U.S.
News & World Report’s 2024 best National Liberal Arts Colleges and among the top 25 liberal arts
colleges in the Wall Street Journal’s 2024 ranking of all colleges and universities. In addition, the
Princeton Review places Wofford’s alumni network in the top 20 nationally. Wofford is recognized
consistently as a “best value” and for accessibility for low- and middle-income students.

Over the past decade, the college has completed a dozen major building projects, including construction
of the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts, the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, the
Stewart H. Johnson Greek Village, the Chandler Center for Environmental Studies, Jerome Johnson
Richardson Hall and a new softball complex and renovation of the Sandor Teszler Library, the Burwell
Building (dining hall), the Mungo Student Center and the Reeves Tennis Center.

A Phi Beta Kappa college (chartered in 1940), Wofford offers 27 major fields of study as well as 51
minors, programs and concentrations. The student-faculty ratio is 11:1. The college community has 12
sororities and fraternities as well as 20 NCAA Division I athletics teams. More than 90% of Wofford
students live on campus all four years. The 180-acre campus is a national arboretum.

Thanks to a $150 million gift in 2021 from 1959 Wofford graduate Jerry Richardson, founding owner of
the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, the college’s endowment now exceeds $400 million.

About Wofford Athletics

A century ago, Wofford College athletics teams chose the Boston Terrier as their mascot. The small but
tenacious and fierce dog is full of intelligence and energy making it an ideal mascot for a college that
prizes the student-athlete model.

Wofford College competes on the NCAA Division I level with membership in the Southern Conference.
More than 400 student-athletes compete on one of the college’s 20 men’s and women’s athletics
teams. Wofford College student-athletes boast some of the highest graduation rates in the NCAA and
are part of a tradition that includes success both on and off the field.

Recent highlights include women’s basketball’s 2023 regular season championship, baseball’s 2022
regular season conference championship and men’s basketball’s NCAA postseason bids five times since
2010. During the 2018-19 season, men’s basketball notched a perfect 21-0 record in Southern
Conference play, including winning their first NCAA tournament game in college history. Football won
the conference championship in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Over the past two decades, the Department of
Athletics has grown the athletics endowment to a current level of more than $45 million, with a long-
term goal of endowing all scholarships in the department.

Wofford College has been the summer home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers’ summer training camp for
the past 26 years.

Position summary

Reporting to the college President and serving on the Cabinet, the Director of Athletics is responsible for
providing leadership, strategic vision, direction and management for the college’s athletics program in a
way that promotes Wofford College’s vision, mission and core values. The Director of Athletics represents
the college’s athletics interests in its many relationships with students, staff, faculty, alumni, fans and
athletics organizations and seeks to win at the most competitive level while maintaining a commitment
to excellence in character, performance, leadership, service to others and lifelong learning.

Duties and responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership toward goals related to competitiveness, student academic
achievement, student-athlete experience, compliance, financial management and event
attendance that reflects the mission and values of the college as a whole.

• Demonstrate core competencies in the areas of leadership and vision, the development of a

strategy to advance that vision and the management and oversight of a complex organization.
• Commensurate with the college’s goals and standards as well as Title IX, Southern Conference
and NCAA rules and regulations, build and sustain an athletics program that strengthens all
sports to be competitive at the championship level while ensuring an exceptional academic and
overall experience for each student-athlete.

• Participate actively in professional organizations through attendance at conferences, clinics and

conventions as needed for an understanding of current developments within all areas of
responsibility.

• Work collaboratively with the college’s Philanthropy + Engagement personnel to engage in fund-

raising activities for the college and its athletics program, including the identification and
solicitation of individuals, corporations and sponsors for annual giving, endowment, scholarship
and major gift support.

• Promote programs and generate fan support for student-athletes through developing and
executing comprehensive marketing and communications strategies designed to enhance
national awareness and generate revenues and resources for the college's athletics department.

• Organize and supervise the entire athletics staff and delegate specific responsibilities to ensure
the efficient and productive operation of all administrative and operational business functions
of the department.

• Proven ability to recruit, lead, mentor, inspire and retain a diverse pool of strong, ethical and

talented coaches and administrators who are committed to student success.

Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree is required; advanced degree strongly preferred.
• The successful candidate will have a demonstrated record of administrative leadership and
accomplishment in university or college sports programs to include visionary strategic and
operational leadership, creative and conceptual thinking and effective resources management;
or equivalent management experience.

• Commitment to a competitive collegiate athletics program in the context of an academically

rigorous environment.

• Commitment to and understanding of best practices in the areas of fundraising, scholarships

and fiscal stewardship, and evidence of strong communications skills that are central to building
relationships with internal and external constituents.

• Demonstrated record of ensuring the physical, emotional and mental well-being of student-

athletes.

• Superior leadership, management, supervisory, public relations, communications and

interpersonal skills.

• Ability to work successfully with students, faculty, staff, alumni and professional colleagues.
• Commitment to building and maintaining strong connections between athletics and the

academic enterprise to ensure success of Wofford College student-athletes to achieve both
athletics and institutional goals.

• Possess a commitment to integrity, justice, equity and diversity that contributes to the

development of an inclusive campus culture.

Application process

Wofford College invites letters of nomination, applications or expressions of interest to be submitted to
the search firm assisting the college. Confidential review of materials will begin immediately and
continue until the appointment is made. For full consideration, application materials should be
submitted at Parker Executive Search’s website by November 1, 2023. For additional information, please
contact:

Daniel Parker, Vice President and Managing Director
DeLaina Sarden, Principal
Tori Williams, Executive Recruiting Coordinator
770-804-1996 ext. 119 | 770-804-1996 ext. 127
danielparker@parkersearch.com | dsarden@parkersearch.com | twilliams@parkersearch.com

EEO STATEMENT

Wofford College values diversity within our students, faculty, and staff and strives to recruit, develop
and retain the most talented people. Wofford College does not discriminate in employment based on
race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender identity, age, national
origin, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected status per applicable federal, state and
local laws. For information about Wofford’s Title IX compliance, visit wofford.edu/administration/title-
ix.

It is the policy of Wofford College to provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with
disabilities for employment. If you require any accommodations to participate in any part of the hiring
process, please contact HumanResources@Wofford.edu.

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