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Athletic Committee

Membership: 6 Faculty, 3 Administrative/Professional staff outside athletics, 2 ex officio (director of athletics and senior woman administrator in athletics), Director of Equal Opportunity and Compliance, 4 students recommended by the Vice President and Athletic Director, Faculty Athletics Representative.

Description: The committee will regularly review issues associated with the welfare of student athletes participating in intercollegiate athletics in OVC and NCAA sports to ensure that the University and the Athletics Department maintain the proper balance between participation in athletics and academic achievement. The committee will prepare an annual report and other reports as needed, advising the president and the faculty senate of the athletic department’s performance with respect to its academic and athletic goals and with respect to the welfare of the student-athletes participating in OVC and NCAA sports. The committee will communicate the concerns of student-athletes participating in intercollegiate athletics to the faculty senate and the university community, including the athletics department, the university administration, academic departments, the faculty as a whole, and other groups as warranted.  

NCAA Division I Manual 6.1.2.1 Composition. Administration and/or faculty staff members shall constitute at least a majority of the board in control of athletics or an athletics advisory board, irrespective of the president or chancellor’s responsibility and authority or whether the athletics department is financed in whole or in part by student fees. If the board has a parliamentary requirement necessitating more than a simple majority in order to transact some or all of its business, then the administrative and faculty members shall be of sufficient number to constitute at least that majority. (Revised: 3/8/06).

(Approver:  Athletics Director)

2023-2024 Membership

Name Area Department Service Term
Jennifer Thayer, Chair Faculty, Athletics Representative Accounting, Finance, and Economics Permanent
Don Dailey Faculty, CoSTEM Biology 2021-2024
Christopher Wright Faculty, CoBHS Criminal Justice 2022-2025
Kathy Heuston Faculty, CoAL Communication 2022-2025
John McConnell Faculty, CoE Educational Specialties 2023-2026
Susan Cockrell Faculty, CoB Accounting and Finance 2022-2025
John Schnettler Faculty at Large, Director of Athletic Band Music ex officio
Walt Lord Staff Newton Military Family Resource Center 2023-2024
Brad Averitt Assistant VP of Alumni and Annual Giving Alumni 2023-2024
Lenora Jackson Staff President's Office 2023-2024
Gerald Harrison Staff, Athletic Director Athletics ex officio
Neisha Campbell Senior Woman Administrator Athletics ex officio
Sheila Bryant Director of Equal Opportunity and Compliance Office of Institutional Culture 2019-2023
Kelsey Mead Student by Dir AAS Student Representative 2023-2024
Mike Diliello Student by Dir AAS Student Representative 2023-2024
Skylar Sheridan Student by Dir AAS Student Representative 2023-2024
Anala Nelson Student by Dir AAS Student Representative 2023-2024

If you have questions, concerns, or would like more information about the Athletic Committee, please contact: Jennifer Thayer
Email: thayerj@apsu.edu