Gillin named director of athletics at Appalachian

Posted Feb. 27, 2015 at 1 p.m.

BOONE—Following a national search, Chancellor Sheri N. Everts has named Douglas Gillin director of athletics at Appalachian State University. He will begin his new duties April 6.

Gillin has been deputy athletics director at the University of Missouri since 2012, was assistant marketing director from 1999-97 and general manager of Mizzou Sports Properties from 1997-99. He also has held posts at Lehigh University and the University of New Mexico, in addition to managerial roles with ISP-Syracuse Sports Properties.

In 2002, he joined ISP Sports Winston-Salem and was named executive vice president in 2007. ISP Sports became part of IMG in 2010. IMG is the country’s leading collegiate multimedia, marketing and licensing/brand management company. Gillin was IMG-Winston-Salem senior vice president-college properties until 2012.

“I commend the search committee members for their hard work and welcome Doug to this amazing university,” said Chancellor Sheri N. Everts. “I am confident he is the athletics director to build on our history of athletic success and address the opportunities associated with moving to the Sun Belt Conference, while remaining focused on the core academic experience of our student-athletes. In keeping with the university’s mission, I look forward to working with Doug to ensure that Appalachian’s tradition of excellent education-focused support for our student-athletes remains central to our athletic program.

While at the University of Missouri, Gillin was responsible for oversight of all facets of day-to-day operations in the athletic director’s absence. He was involved in every aspect of financial planning and budget development, was a member of the department’s strategic plan development team and was responsible for developing and refining of strategic priorities for external relations units.

He also worked with compliance on related issues, had direct oversight over men’s basketball and was part of a three-person team that oversaw all football operations.

He was responsible for external operations for the athletics department, including Tiger Scholarship Fund, ticketing, strategic communications, Mizzou Sports Properties and game operations. He helped lead Mizzou Athletics’ capital campaign and was involved in a $102 million facility enhancement plan for football, softball, baseball, golf, tennis, and track and field facilities.

“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I welcome Doug Gillin to the Appalachian community and share that the board looks forward to working with him in support of our student-athletes and the athletics program,” said Chairman Bradley T. Adcock.

Gillin replaces Charlie Cobb who was athletics director at Appalachian for nine years.

He will report to Chancellor Everts. He will direct all aspects of the University’s intercollegiate athletics program, including hiring and evaluating staff; overseeing and directing the athletics department’s budget; developing, implementing, and managing the expectations and vision for the athletics program; marketing and promoting the athletics program; fund-raising in conjunction with University Advancement and Alumni Affairs & Annual Giving.

He also will represent the university in matters relating to athletics, including Yosef Club and Alumni Association events; ensure the compliance of all athletics department employees with the laws, policies, rules and regulations governing the university and its employees, as well as the rules of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Sun Belt Conference; and ensure compliance with Title IX regulations.

A native of Binghamton, N.Y., Gillin earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education with an emphasis on sport management from State University of New York Cortland. He earned a Master of Science degree in physical education with an emphasis in athletic administration from Ohio University.

He is a former NCAA student-athlete and four-year letter winner and team captain in ice hockey at SUNY Cortland.

Gillin and his wife, Leslie, are the parents of two daughters and a son.

About Appalachian State Athletics

The Appalachian State University Mountaineers compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Sun Belt Conference. Appalachian fields 20 varsity teams, 10 for men and 10 for women.

About Appalachian State University

As the premier public undergraduate institution in the state of North Carolina, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls more than 19,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.