Appalachian State University and Director of Athletics Doug Gillin have agreed to a four-year contract extension that will keep him at App State through 2022.
Gillin was named the school’s director of athletics on Feb. 27, 2015, and he officially began the role on April 6, 2015. The extension was announced Wednesday by Chancellor Sheri Everts.
“Doug Gillin’s leadership of the athletics division has led to unprecedented success for our student-athletes in the classroom and in their sports,” Everts said. “I appreciate his emphasis on the academic success of our student-athletes, his inclusive vision and his thoughtful approach to growth for our athletics programs.”
In the midst of his third year in Boone, Gillin has overseen progress in all facets of an athletics department that was in the beginning stages of its transition from FCS football and Southern Conference membership to FBS football and the Sun Belt Conference upon his arrival.
Among the achievements under Gillin’s leadership have been App State student-athletes leading the way academically within the Sun Belt; installation of state-of-the-art video boards at Holmes Convocation Center and Kidd Brewer Stadium; plans approved for a $38.2 million football end zone project, field hockey stadium upgrades and other facility enhancements; negotiating home games against top-tier programs such as Miami, North Carolina and South Carolina; record-breaking football crowds; and a significant increase in philanthropic giving.
“I would like to thank Chancellor Everts for giving me the opportunity to lead the athletics department at this great institution,” Gillin said. “We have a wonderful team of administrators, coaches and support staff who consistently recruit and develop high-quality student-athletes. We’ve been able to enhance our program through articulating our vision for comprehensive excellence in all facets of our athletic department – academically, athletically, socially and through innovative resource acquisition. We will keep working hard toward our goal of being the best athletics department in the country and provide our student-athletes a world-class college experience. My family and I are excited about what the future holds at Appalachian.”
Gillin has helped oversee one of the most successful transitions to the FBS level of football in history. The Mountaineers, under the leadership of head coach Scott Satterfield, became the first team to win bowl games in the first three consecutive years after making such a transition. They claimed the 2015 and 2016 Camellia Bowl trophies and were most recently crowned champions of the 2017 Dollar General Bowl after a 34-0 shutout of MAC champion Toledo.
The football team claimed Sun Belt Championships in 2016 and 2017. Its 36-9 record over the last 45 games trails only Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Wisconsin among all FBS programs.
Other team championships under Gillin’s watch include 2016, 2017 and 2018 Southern Conference wrestling, 2016 Sun Belt women’s indoor track and field, 2016 Sun Belt women’s cross country and 2017 Sun Belt men’s cross country.
Following are some of the top achievements during Gillin’s tenure as director of athletics.
- Fall 2017 marked the 11th consecutive semester that App student-athletes achieved a collective 3.0 grade point average. App State received the Institutional Graduation Rate Award from the Sun Belt in 2015 and 2017 and led the league with 237 total student-athletes making the 2016-17 Sun Belt Commissioner’s List (3.5+ GPA) or Academic Honor Roll (3.0-3.49 GPA).
- The design phase of a $38.2 million football end zone project has been approved.
- State-of-the-art video boards were installed at Holmes Convocation Center (for basketball and volleyball) and Kidd Brewer Stadium this past summer. The football video board is the largest of its kind among Group of Five programs.
- Volleyball received locker room upgrades in 2017, while plans are underway for field hockey and wrestling facility enhancements thanks to generous donations to the program.
- Gillin negotiated big-time home games versus Power Five opponents in Miami (2016), North Carolina (2022) and South Carolina (2025). The Miami crowd of 34,658 set a stadium record that was eclipsed by the Wake Forest crowd of 35,126 a year later. Other future home-and-home series include East Carolina and Marshall.
- Giving to the Yosef Club has hit record highs, thanks to leadership gifts like App alum Mark Ricks’ donation of $10 million toward the university’s A Mountaineer Impact initiative. Ricks’ gift, announced Nov. 9, 2017, is the largest outright gift in university history.
- The Mountaineer Impact initiative was announced in February 2017 and has generated $30 million toward the $60 million overall goal as of March 2018. Contributions to the initiative help construct and enhance athletic facilities and provide critical scholarship support, while impacting the overall athletic experience for App State student-athletes and fans.
Before arriving in Boone, Gillin was most recently the deputy director of athletics at the University of Missouri from 2012-15, playing a prominent role in the Tigers’ transition to the Southeastern Conference.
Gillin spent a decade in North Carolina in various roles with ISP Sports/IMG College from 2002-12. The first nine years of his athletics career were spent on college campuses, including Lehigh (1993-94), New Mexico (1994-95), Missouri (1995-99) and Syracuse (1999-02).
GILLIN AT A GLANCE
Professional Experience
1993-94: Lehigh (assistant ticketing/business office director)
1994-95: New Mexico (assistant marketing director)
1995-97: Missouri (assistant marketing director)
1997-99: Missouri (general manager – Mizzou Sports Properties)
1999-2002: Syracuse (general manager – Syracuse Sports Properties)
2002-07: ISP (senior vice president)
2007-10: ISP (executive vice president/chief sales officer)
2010-12: IMG College (senior vice president for college properties)
2012-15: Missouri (deputy athletics director)
2015-present: Appalachian State (athletics director)
Education
Bachelor’s: SUNY Cortland, 1991 (physical education – sports management concentration)
Master’s: Ohio, 1993 (physical education)
Student-Athlete
Ice Hockey: SUNY Cortland (1987-91)
Hometown: Binghamton, N.Y.
Birthdate: May 28, 1969
Wife: Leslie
Daughters: Shea and Lia
Son: Chase
Twitter: @DougGillin
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