Vice President and Director of Athletics

About the Position and NAU Athletics

Lumberjack Athletics competes as a member of the Big Sky Conference, sponsoring 15 NCAA Division I athletic programs for approximately 350 student-athletes. NAU is the only NCAA Division I athletics department in the greater Northern Arizona region, and the Lumberjacks have established an extraordinary tradition of competitive excellence and academic success.

Under the leadership of NAU President José Luis Cruz Rivera, NAU Athletics has reached new heights, including 46 conference championships, two team NCAA national championships, six individual NCAA national championships, and the first FCS playoff appearance by NAU Football since 2017. The university's philanthropic momentum tells an equally powerful story: the last five years represent the highest fundraising totals in NAU's history, and with a comprehensive campaign now underway, donor confidence in this university's direction is at an all-time high. As NAU opts in to the House Settlement for the 2026-27 academic year, the university is positioned to leverage these achievements and enter the new era of intercollegiate athletics in a way that is distinctive, mission-aligned, and purpose-driven — advancing student success and competitive excellence, elevating the Lumberjack brand, and building a sustainable operating model designed for the future. Since 2016, the NAU men's cross country program has been among the most decorated in college athletics, capturing six NCAA Division I national championships. NAU is tied for fourth all time among for NCAA men’s cross country championships and the program is deeply embedded into the fabric of the region, which is known as a worldwide training destination for elite runners. The Lumberjacks have earned four Big Sky Presidents' Cups and have swept both the men's and women's All-Sports Trophies in the same year six times. The NAU men have claimed 18 All-Sport Trophies and the NAU women 11, underscoring a culture of sustained excellence across all sports.

NAU seeks a VP/AD who understands that athletics can and should be an integral partner in advancing the university’s mission and vision by increasing institutional visibility, strengthening enrollment pipelines, amplifying NAU's research mission, deepening community ties, stewarding resources, growing revenues, and enriching campus life for all students.

The ideal candidate will bring a track record of building genuine, lasting partnerships across academic affairs, student life, alumni relations, advancement, communications, and community outreach; will have a demonstrated history of leadership to successfully steward resources, refine operations, and grow revenues through ticket sales, partnerships, and philanthropic engagement; and has the capacity to engage deeply as a partner and bridge between athletics programs and communities of supporters. The successful VP/AD will leverage this experience to develop an excellent team of coaches and staff to pursue distinctive excellence and athletic accomplishments, the highest standards of academic achievement, and lead with integrity and partnership throughout the university community — arriving at NAU prepared to lead from a place of institutional citizenship, not departmental isolation.

Scope of Responsibility

The Vice President and Director of Athletics serves as the strategic leader and chief

executive of NAU's Division I athletics program. Reporting directly to the President and serving as a member of President’s Cabinet, the VP/AD holds comprehensive responsibility for:

• All 15 NCAA Division I intercollegiate sport programs and approximately 350

  student-athletes

• Full-time and part-time athletics department staff, including head coaches, assistant coaches, and administrative personnel

• Student-athlete academic support, mental health resources, life skills programming, and graduation success

• Leading the department in alignment with the university's mission and values and in partnership and collaboration with campus colleagues

• Oversight, management, and strategic allocation of the athletics department's

  multimillion-dollar operating budget

• Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) strategy and structure for resourcing student-

  athlete opportunities

• Coordination and partnership with athletics staff and coaches, as well as other

  university divisions, to maximize the activity, public engagement, and revenue

  generating potential athletics-related facilities, including the Walkup Skydome, SAHPC, Lumberjack Stadium, and the Aquatic and Tennis Center.

• Revenue generation, including fundraising, ticket sales, facility rentals, and

  corporate and philanthropic partnerships

• NCAA, Big Sky, and MPSF Conference compliance, governance, and institutional

  representation

• Brand management, communications, media relations, and community engagement

The VP/AD is a visible and influential leader across the NAU campus and throughout the state of Arizona — providing authoritative guidance on the role of intercollegiate athletics within the broader institutional mission and serving as a primary ambassador for the Lumberjack brand to prospective and current students, alumni, donors, and the Northern Arizona community.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Champion NAU's unique student-athlete identity, building Lumberjack pride, celebrating athletic and academic excellence, and positioning Northern Arizona University as a national model for innovation and integrity in collegiate athletics.

• Serve as the primary advisor to the President and Cabinet Leadership on all NCAA and Conference matters, providing strategic counsel on policy, governance, and compliance while representing NAU's interests with vision and integrity.

• Lead a comprehensive fundraising and revenue generation strategy that aligns with the department's evolving priorities — including NIL initiatives — while driving long-term sustainability. Partner with the NAU Advancement | Foundation, Alumni Relations, and Campus Services & Activities to cultivate donor relationships, strengthen stewardship, and expand department and university-wide revenue generation capabilities that support Athletics’ resource base and drive university- wide benefit.

• Provide forward-looking strategic direction, establishing and executing short- and long-term goals that align with NAU's aspirations for competitive excellence, institutional identity, and student-athlete success.

• Engage world class Olympic training organizations, teams and individuals in Flagstaff, in the United States and internationally for the use of university training

  facilities and space to enhance revenue generation, national brand awareness and community support and pride.

• Oversee all department communications and brand positioning — including media relations, storytelling, and digital content — to elevate NAU Athletics locally, regionally, and nationally.

• Represent the university at NCAA, Big Sky, and MPSF Conference meetings and

  events, advocating for the institution's values and priorities while ensuring full

  compliance with all governing bodies.

• Ensure full compliance with Arizona Board of Regents policies, cultivating a culture of transparency, accountability, and institutional integrity.

• Serve as a genuine institutional partner — actively engaging with colleagues across Academic Affairs, Strategic Enrollment & Marketing, Student Affairs, Advancement | Foundation, Alumni Relations, the University Budget Office, Campus Services & Activities, and more to identify shared opportunities and bring the resources and reach of athletics to bear on broader university goals and ensuring athletics is consistently experienced as an asset to the entire NAU community.

• Develop a strategic partnership with Strategic Enrollment and Marketing to leverage athletics as a driver of student recruitment and retention — with particular attention to underrepresented and first-generation student populations, as well as strategic entrance into out-of-state markets — ensuring that the student-athlete recruiting pipeline aligns with NAU's broader enrollment strategy.

• Collaborate closely with Academic Affairs to support the academic success,

  retention, and graduation of student-athletes and students engaged with Athletics through internships, fellowships, and student employment. Serve as a proactive partner — not merely a compliance participant — in academic integrity, learning support, and student success initiatives across campus.

• Partner with Student Affairs to develop and execute student-athlete support systems — including academic advising, life skills programming, and mental health and wellness resources — integrated with university-wide infrastructure rather than siloed within the athletics department.

• Collaborate with NAU's research enterprise and relevant academic units to identify opportunities where athletics can contribute to or elevate the university's research mission, including human performance, sports science, public health, and related fields.

• Work closely with university-wide partners to manage university facility usage in alignment with athletic department needs and institutional academic, research,

  student success, public engagement, and revenue generating priorities, building a culture of partnership, shared responsibility, and stewardship of university

  infrastructure.

• Manage complex operations across multimillion-dollar budgets, in close

  collaboration with the University Budget Office, supporting university-wide priorities around financial stewardship and sustainability. Model effective and efficient practices in scheduling, travel, shared facilities, and operation to steward resources while enabling sustained Division I success and ensuring compliance with NCAA regulations and university policies.

• Partner with Campus Services & Activities to establish, oversee, and grow a university sports camp program that creates meaningful youth and family engagement, generates revenue, and ensures full compliance with NCAA and

  university policies governing youth programs while also allowing Division I coaches to utilize camps for recruiting purposes. In addition, partner to maximize concession and venue revenues for the university in a manner that is integrated with Athletics department needs and operations, such as student athlete nutrition, on-campus housing, and more.

• Foster a high-performing, values-driven departmental culture, mentoring coaches and staff while thoughtfully evolving the organizational structure to meet the demands of Division I competition.

• Strengthen relationships with student-athletes, coaches, faculty, staff, alumni,

  donors, community leaders, and university leadership to unify and amplify

  institutional support for athletics.

• Partner with the Vice President of Advancement | Foundation to raise philanthropic funds in support of athletics, including capital campaigns and endowment priorities.

• Partner with the Strategic Communications on issues management and crisis

  communication strategies that protect and enhance the reputation of NAU Athletics during times of challenge or change.

• Ensure rigorous, proactive compliance with Title IX across all aspects of athletics

  operations, and serve as a visible institutional leader in advancing gender equity — modeling and reinforcing NAU's commitment to equitable opportunity for all student-athletes, coaches, and staff.