The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members include the flagship public universities of 12 states, three additional public land-grant universities, and one private research university. The conference is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The SEC participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I in sports competitions. In football, it is part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A.
An athletic director is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in athletic programs.
The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as the "Gator Nation." The Gators compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and are consistently ranked among the top college sports programs in the United States. The University of Florida currently fields teams in nine men's sports and twelve women's sports.
The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). In January 2021, Danny White was introduced as the Volunteers' Director of Athletics.
Lindsey Wilson College is a private, United Methodist-related college in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 as a training school, the college now offers in-person and online degree programs, offered at the associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels.
The Vanderbilt Commodores are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt fields 16 varsity teams, 14 of which compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Vanderbilt's women's lacrosse team plays in the American Athletic Conference. The bowling team plays in Conference USA (C-USA), which absorbed Vanderbilt's former bowling home of the Southland Bowling League after the 2022–23 season. The University of Tennessee Volunteers are Vanderbilt's primary athletic rival, and the only other SEC team in Tennessee.
The Tulane Green Wave are the athletic teams that represent Tulane University, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tulane competes in NCAA Division I as a member of the American Athletic Conference. There are 14 Green Wave intercollegiate programs, two of which compete outside The American. Beach volleyball and bowling, women's sports that are not sponsored by The American, compete in Conference USA (CUSA).
The Georgia Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The official mascot is an English Bulldog named Uga,, while the costumed character version of Uga is Hairy Dawg. Most of the school's athletic teams are known as the Bulldogs, with the exception of the women's basketball team, known as the "Lady Bulldogs", the women's gymnastics team, known as the "GymDogs", and the team also being referred to as "The Dawgs".
Charles Martin Newton was an American collegiate basketball player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Transylvania University from 1956 to 1968, the University of Alabama from 1968 to 1980, and Vanderbilt University from 1981 to 1989, compiling a career college basketball coaching record of 509–375. He was chairman of the NCAA Rules committee from 1979 to 1985 and was the president of USA Basketball from 1992 to 1996.
Michael J. Thomas is an American university administrator, and the former athletic director at Cleveland State University. Thomas was previously athletic director at the University of Illinois from 2011 to 2015, University of Cincinnati from 2005 to 2011, and the University of Akron from 2000 to 2005. Previously, he served as an associate athletic director at the University of Virginia and the University of Denver, and spent a year at the University of Iowa as an administrative intern.
Mal Mathad Moore was an American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the athletic director at the University of Alabama from 1999 to 2013. On November 23, 1999, he was hired as athletic director after spending almost thirty years in other areas with the university. As a player, coach, and director of athletics, Moore was part of ten national championship football teams. In May 2012, he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Moore died March 30, 2013, in Durham, North Carolina.
Deborah Ann Yow is an American college sports administrator and former college basketball coach. She was the director of athletics at North Carolina State University, and held the same position at the University of Maryland and Saint Louis University. She previously served as the head coach of the women's basketball teams of the University of Kentucky, Oral Roberts University, and the University of Florida.
Thomas H. McClelland II is the athletic director at Rice University. He was previously the deputy athletic director for external affairs at Vanderbilt University.
Teresa Lawrence Phillips was the athletic director at Tennessee State University, a post she had held since 2001. She was one of the few female athletic directors at a school that sponsors football. She was also the head women's basketball coach at TSU and Fisk University, and led the Tiger men for one game in 2003—becoming the first woman to coach a Division I men's basketball team.
Derrick Gragg is an American college athletics administrator. He was the athletic director at Northwestern University, a position he has held from 2021 to 2024, before being moved to the position of Vice President for Athletic Strategy. He previously spent eight years, 2013 to 2021, as the athletic director at the University of Tulsa, seven years, 2006 to 2013, as the athletic director at Eastern Michigan University, six years, 2000 to 2006, as senior associate athletic director at the University of Arkansas. Gragg played college football at Vanderbilt University, lettering as a wide receiver for the Commodores for four seasons, 1988 to 1991.
Desireé Don Reed-Francois is an American attorney and college athletics administrator who became the athletic director at the University of Arizona on March 3, 2024. She has more than two-and-half decades of experience in intercollegiate athletics, including overseeing the external operations for several institutions.
Carla Williams is the athletic director of the Virginia Cavaliers. She is the first African American woman in the Power Five conferences to hold this position.
Barbara A. Hedges is the former athletic director at the University of Washington. Hedges was the longest-serving woman athletic director among NCAA Division I programs in the nation.
James Schaus is a retired sports administrator who most recently served as commissioner of the Southern Conference (SoCon). Before taking the SoCon position, he served as athletic director at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio and Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas.
