Jennifer Strawley was named Elon University’s 20th director of athletics on July 6.
Strawley comes to Elon as senior deputy director of athletics at the University of Miami and will officially begin Aug. 1. She steps into the role with over 20 years of experience following former Athletics Director Dave Blank stepping down after the 2022-23 academic year.
“I am humbled and honored to join the Elon family,” Strawley said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the incredible student-athletes, coaches, staff, faculty, university leadership and greater campus community to create a transformative student-athlete experience where student-athletes continue to excel academically, achieve excellence in competition and are prepared for a life of impact beyond their days at Elon.”
Strawley has been at Miami since 2012 and was named the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Administrator of the Year in 2021. With a short period as interim director of athletics from November to December 2021, she also served as the sport administrator for football and women’s basketball, as well as senior woman administrator.
Before she arrived at Miami, Strawley worked for the National Collegiate Athletic Association as the director of academic and membership affairs, in which she managed academic policy and governance issues, academic education and the internal inclusion team.
In addition, Strawley served on numerous NCAA and Atlantic Coast Conference committees — most notably the NCAA Strategic Vision Committee, the NCAA Championships Finance Review Working Group, the ACC Board of Directors as the chair of the ACC Senior Woman Administrator group, the ACC Equity Committee and the ACC Infractions and Sportsmanship Review Committee.
Strawley has also served on the board of directors for Women’s Leaders in College Sports and now serves on the board of directors for the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.
In between her time at NCAA, Strawley worked at Columbia University where she was the associate athletics director for intercollegiate sports programs and the senior woman administrator — holding sport supervision responsibilities and providing oversight for Title IX and gender equity issues.
The following did not respond to Elon News Network’s immediate request for comment:
- Strawley
- Co-Chair of the Athletic Director Search Committee and Vice President for Student Life Jon Dooley
- President of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee Lauryn Carlton
- Chair of the faculty athletic committee Shaina Dabbs
- Professor of exercise science Eric Hall
- Associate Athletics Director for compliance and administration Jeffrey Scheible ’13
- Senior Associate Athletics Director and senior women’s administrator Faith Shearer
- Head women’s volleyball coach Mary Tendler
“Jenn stood out in the search process as a strategic and visionary leader who is dedicated to the enhancement of the student-athlete experience and the holistic development of student-athletes,” university President Connie Book said in a statement.