FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Lisa Campos, the senior associate athletic director at the University of Texas at El Paso, was named Northern Arizona University's new vice president of intercollegiate athletics on Friday. The hire is pending approval by the Arizona Board of Regents.
Campos earned a doctorate in educational leadership and administration
from UTEP in 2009, where she served nine years as a senior athletics
administrator and two years as assistant dean of students.
"Lisa exemplifies NAU’s dual commitment to excellence in athletics and academics," said NAU president John Haeger. "Elevating this position from athletic director to vice president is a first for NAU. As a vice president, she will literally be at the table with our academic and administrative vice presidents, all working to advance NAU’s performance goals on and off the field."
Haeger recently outlined his goals for the athletic department in a public letter, and in announcing the hire, he cited Campos’s experience with student affairs and her participation in an NCAA leadership program as strong motivating factors in her selection.
"NAU is fortunate to have found someone with such deep ties to academics and with frontline experience in the inner workings of the NCAA," Haeger said. "I'm confident that her big-picture vision of a successful athletics program will guide NAU for years to come."
A starting date for Campos has not been set, but she said she is eager to get started.
"NAU has established a great tradition in athletics while emphasizing student success, and that’s a strong foundation to build on," Campos said. "I look forward to building an even stronger bond between athletics and academics and to answering President Haeger’s call for consistently competitive teams."
At UTEP, Campos held a wide range of management responsibilities for up to 14 sports and oversaw all compliance operations. She also served as the senior woman administrator in the athletics department. In 2009, she was selected to participate in the NCAA’s Fellows Leadership Program.
"Getting to know the alumni, boosters and Flagstaff community will be one of the benefits of this position," Campos said. "Their ongoing support will play a major role in the success of the overall program."
NAU hired Parker Executive Search and established an internal search committee to identify potential candidates through a national search.
MJ McMahon, NAU's executive vice president and chair of the committee, commended the work of all involved.
"Everyone made it a priority to evaluate a group of outstanding candidates from across the country, and I’m thrilled that we have had such a successful outcome," McMahon said. "This opportunity at NAU drew a tremendous amount of interest, which demonstrates how well the university is perceived nationally."
The same search firm and a separate committee are still working to identify finalists for men’s basketball coach, which was held for the latter portion of last season by interim coach Dave Brown after Mike Adras resigned early in the season.
UTEP released a statement shortly after NAU's announcement, with athletic director Bob Stull saying:
"We are really going to miss Lisa, although this is just a great
opportunity for her at Northern Arizona. She is exceptional. She has
experience in all aspects of athletic administration. She has
demonstrated that she can handle the multitude of responsibilities
necessary to be an outstanding athletic director. She has a wonderful
relationship with student-athletes, coaches and faculty alike. Northern
Arizona has hit a home run with this hire.”
