Meet the new athletic director at University of Illinois Springfield: Mike Hermann
Mike Hermann was announced as the new University of Illinois Springfield athletic director on Thursday.
Hermann, who will take over June 17 following approval by the board of trustees, is wrapping up his third year as the senior associate athletic director for external operations at University of the Pacific in California.
"I think it’s a remarkable opportunity," Hermann said following Thursday's press conference. "I think they’ve achieved great things to date, but I also think there’s also great potential here and I think with the leadership of the chancellor (Janet L. Gooch) and her team, I think things can continue to move forward and this can truly become one of the best (NCAA) Division II athletic programs in the country."
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He has previously served as AD at Niagara University, Towson University and Kansas Wesleyan University in addition to other roles at Norfolk State University, Seattle University, Xavier University and the Horizon League, according to the UIS press release.
At Norfolk State, Hermann oversaw corporate sales, media relations, marketing and ticket sales strategies, according to a bio on the Pacific web site. He was also previously selected as one of the NAIA athletic directors of the year in 2019 by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics while at Kansas Wesleyan.
Hermann, originally from Ohio, earned his bachelor’s degree at John Carroll University in Cleveland and a master’s degree from Kent State University.
UIS elevated to the Great Lakes Valley Conference and the DII level in 2009.
"There are schools in this league that are really competing at a national level," Hermann said, "but it is a great opportunity and our athletes are competing at a top level day in and day out, so if we can win this league and get to the NCAA tournament, we have the opportunity to be successful there as well."
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Jamarco Clark, the vice chancellor for student affairs, took over as the interim AD following Laura Liesman’s resignation in the fall. Two other ADs have left since 2019 beginning with Jim Sarra and later Peyton Deterding.
"I think it’s going to be great for our coaches and our student-athletes to have someone who is giving them that undivided attention, so we’re really excited about that," Clark said.
UIS is currently searching for head coaches for the women's basketball and women's soccer teams. Graham Shaw, previously an assistant coach at Marquette University, was hired as the new men's soccer coach in April.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Mike Hermann to take over as athletic director at UIS
