Nearly three months since Bob Stull announced his retirement as UTEP’s Athletic Director, the athletic department named Jim Senter, the former athletic director from The Citadel (SC), the new Director of Athletics on Wednesday.
UTEP Welcomes New Director of Athletics Jim Senter! https://t.co/e9Eu1i31yT #WeAreMiners pic.twitter.com/yX5kzX8Kpv
— UTEP Miners (@UTEPAthletics) November 22, 2017
“We’re delighted to welcome Jim Senter to the UTEP family,” UTEP President Diana Natalicio said. “He brings to El Paso extensive leadership experience in athletics administration and fundraising, most recently at The Citadel, where for the past three years, student-athletes have achieved excellence both on the playing field and in the classroom, and successful fundraising has enhanced the college athletics experience for them and their fans. His previous experience at the University of Idaho, San Diego State University and the University of Colorado gives him a rich set of perspectives on the complexities of intercollegiate athletics in the 21st century. I thank Bob Stull for his nearly 20 years of dedicated efforts to strengthen the foundation for a sustainable athletics program at UTEP, and I thank the search committee for working diligently to find the best candidate to usher in a new era of UTEP Athletics. We’re excited about UTEP Athletics’ future under Jim Senter’s direction.”
Senter was with The Citadel since 2014, where he oversaw 16 NCAA Division I sports. He also comes with experience hiring new coaches, as he hired coaches for football, men’s basketball, baseball, soccer and volleyball.
“I would like to thank Dr. Natalicio for this opportunity,” he said in a press release, “I look forward to building upon the work that Coach Stull and the administration have accomplished. There are numerous factors that you need to ensure success in athletics, and Bob has put many of them in place during his time as the AD. I cannot wait to get to campus, acclimate to the city of El Paso and invest in the community. I am a big believer that ‘every person makes a difference’ and we will work tirelessly to engage the community to be a difference maker for UTEP Athletics.”
Another positive Senter brings to the table is his ability to raise funds for the athletic department. He raised over 45 percent of the school’s athletic budget, which is the highest in the Southern Conference.
With the fundraising efforts, Senter made it possible to improve all major sports facilities and also helped out with over $6 million in scholarships and grants.
He joined The Citadel after spending 2006-13 at the University of Colorado, where he served as the Senior Athletic Director for External Operations.
He started with Colorado as Associate AD for Development, where he was tasked to increase fundraising amounts.
Before Colorado, he was the Associate AD for Development/Senior Associate AD for External Sales at San Diego State. From 2003-05 he was the Director of Athletics at Idaho State University.
He started at the University of Idaho as an assistant head football coach and recruiting coordinator. Then, he went towards the administrative side, overseeing the development growth at Idaho from 1998-2003. He raised money for a $13 million athletic facility expansion.
Senter will be formally announced in front of the El Paso media on Monday, Nov. 27.
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