This past week, current William & Mary Interim Athletics Director Jeremy Martin went on record stating that the school is on track to hire its next AD by July. It was a relatively minor comment that holds massive implications for William & Mary Athletics moving forward.
We’ve mentioned time and again on this blog that the next AD’s vision will shape the future of W&M Athletics during a time of great change across the collegiate sports landscape.
Back in the fall, we at the WMSB posted a couple articles detailing some of the top candidates for the role; now that we’re inching closer to the actual hiring date, we’ve slightly narrowed down & re-bucketed the list. Let us know in the comments which candidate you’d prefer most, or if there’s anyone you think we missed!
William & Mary Alums
Brian Shallcross
Another former W&M student-athlete (’98) who played football for the Tribe, Brian Shallcross largely spent his time in the ‘Burg under the tutelage of Jimmye Laycock.
In fact, Brian is a member of the Tribe Football Walk-On Hall of Fame.
Following an incredibly successful career as W&M’s top kicker, Shallcross graduated with a BBA in Marketing from the College.
Immediately following graduation, and looking to continue on in the sports world, he enrolled in Ohio University’s renowned Sports Administration program — ultimately graduating in 1999.
From there, it’s been a long, illustrious career in the world of sports business — as Shallcross’ resume includes two quick, early stops: one at UVA selling luxury suites and one in event services at Comcast Spectacor, the owner of the Flyers and Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
After those two stints, Shallcross entered the world of Minor League Baseball. And he’s never looked back.
Since 2004, he has been with the Bowie Baysox, the AA affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles; there, he holds the high-ranking title of General Manager.
Currently in his mid-40s, Brian now has two decades of professional experience in the world of sports business. He also holds a master’s degree in the field, and is a former W&M student-athlete.
While there would certainly be an initial learning curve for someone like Shallcross as W&M’s AD, transitions such as these do happen for many in the sports industry (e.g. Kevin Warren’s recent career move from the Minnesota Vikings COO to current Big 10 Commissioner).
And while we don’t have any inside knowledge as to Shallcross’ desire to hold the role as W&M Athletics Director, we’ve seen his name mentioned by alums on social media as someone to consider.
Sean Magee
Below is an updated version of Michigan’s official webpage for Magee:
“Sean Magee is in his fourth season with the program in 2020 after spending the previous five seasons at the U.S. Naval Academy.
In his current role with the Wolverines, Magee provides oversight and direction for the football program in all off-field areas including the management of the player personnel department, football operations and the administration of the budget for all football related activity.
He additionally serves as the program’s NFL liaison.
During his time at Navy, Magee served as the Director of Player Personnel, responsible for helping to shape and manage the roster during the winningest five-year stretch of program history.
In his role, Magee assisted in the management of all administrative functions of the program while also developing and implementing the strategic planning, marketing and scouting process for recruiting prospective student-athletes.
Magee graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics.
He later earned a master’s degree in business administration from the College of William & Mary’s Mason School of Business in 2012.
As a player at Navy from 2000 to 2003, Magee was a member of the offensive line that led the nation in rushing during the 2003 season.
In addition, Magee helped lead the Midshipmen to regain the Commander in Chief’s Trophy for the first time since 1981 and was a member of the program’s first bowl game team since the 1996 season.
After graduating from the Academy, Magee served as a Division Officer onboard the USS Juneau in Sasebo, Japan, where he deployed to the Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Following that tour of duty, Magee served as a manpower/personnel analyst on the Commander, Naval Surface Forces staff in Coronado, California.
He transferred to the Navy’s Human Resources community in 2007 and assumed Department Head responsibilities at Navy Recruiting District Ohio.
As part of the nation’s largest recruiting district, Magee was responsible for directing all enlisted and NROTC recruiting efforts in the states of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia.
Magee and his wife, Sarah, have two sons, oldest Miles, and youngest Lane, a daughter, Stella, and twin sons, Brooks and Colt.”
Mike Paulus
Below is an updated version of Navy’s official webpage for Paulus:
“Michael Paulus serves as the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development for the Naval Academy Athletic Association, where he has been since July 2018.
In his role, Paulus partners with the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation and the Athletic & Scholarship Programs Division to lead annual and capital fundraising efforts supporting Navy Athletics.
He is a member of the Athletic Director’s executive staff and serves as the sport administrator for men’s tennis, men’s heavyweight and lightweight rowing, and women’s rowing.
Prior to Navy, Paulus served as the Assistant Athletic Director for Development at Ole Miss.
In that capacity, he was responsible for raising major gifts for Ole Miss Athletics and the Forward Together campaign, a $200 million capital initiative that resulted in a new basketball arena, expansion to the football stadium, and renovations and improvements benefiting all Olympic sports facilities.
At Ole Miss from 2015-2018, Paulus was part of a development team that produced several of the top fundraising years in Ole Miss Athletics history, including the single best year ever totaling $45.6 million in cash donations.
Paulus joined Ole Miss from Mount St. Mary’s University where he was the Senior Director of Athletic Development.
In his role, he served on both the Vice President of Advancement and Athletic Director’s leadership teams and oversaw all fundraising and development operations for Mount St. Mary’s Athletics from 2013-2015.
Prior to Mount St. Mary’s, he worked at Virginia Commonwealth University as Director of the Ram Athletic Fund where he managed the annual giving program for VCU Athletics.
A native of Syracuse, N.Y., Paulus graduated from the College of William & Mary and was a member of the football team.
He earned his Masters of Education in Sport Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University, an M.B.A. from Mount St. Mary’s, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration at Ole Miss.”
Just Plain Make Sense
Spencer Milne
Our former boss at W&M when we (Kyle & Davey of the WMSB) were young W&M Athletics marketing interns, Milne tops our personal list as someone who would be a great hire for the Green and Gold.
Below is an updated version of Penn State’s official press release, published when the Nittany Lions hired Milne away from W&M in 2017:
“Currently at Penn State, Milne oversees Intercollegiate Athletics’ annual giving efforts.
In the role, his responsibilities include ensuring lifelong, annual support from Penn State alumni, parents, and fans while maximizing their philanthropy in support of Nittany Lion student-athletes.
These duties include oversight of the Nittany Lion Club (which secures annual support from more than 22,000 donors each year), and is one of the largest organizations of its kind in the nation.
Milne joined the Nittany Lions’ staff after serving in external roles at the College of William & Mary for 11 years, most recently as Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing, Promotions and Ticket Services.
For four years (2013-2017), Milne was the Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing, Promotions and Ticket Services at William & Mary.
In addition to his duties related to strategic customer service, ticketing and marketing, Milne supervised the W&M cheerleading and dance teams, pep band, mascot and student fan club spirit programs and directed the expansion of W&Ms game day experience and customer service staffing.
From Haymarket, Va., Milne joined the William & Mary staff in 2006 as Director of Ticket Operations and was promoted to Director of Marketing, Promotions and Ticket Services in 2010.
Prior to his tenure at William & Mary, Milne served in ticket operations at Florida Atlantic University and Wake Forest University.
His first ticketing position came while he was a graduate student at Ohio University, serving as the Interim Director of Ticket Operations in 2003-04 while working on his master’s degree in sport administration (the same program as Brian Shallcross mentioned above).
Milne has earned three degrees from Ohio University.
He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sport industry, with a minor in business administration.
Milne also earned a master’s in business administration and a master’s in sport administration from Ohio.”
In our eyes, Milne would be a great hire; having served in W&M Athletics for over a decade — prior to Samantha Huge’s hiring — Milne embodies the true meaning of One Tribe One Family.
Anyone who has met him would tell you the same — go ahead and ask. He understands the school’s values, emphasis on academics, and focus on recruiting true student-athletes.
A potential Milne hire would be one that we at the WMSB could fully get behind.
Robb Dunn
Below is an updated version of Navy’s official webpage for Dunn:
“Robb Dunn currently serves as the Deputy Director of Athletics Administration and Club Sports at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he’s been since September 2007.
He is the sport administrator for football and women’s golf.
Dunn also coordinates Football team travel and Navy’s participation in neutral site and postseason bowl games, including Army-Navy and the 2012 Emerald Isle Classic in Dublin, Ireland.
In addition, he has oversight of the Naval Academy’s competitive intercollegiate Club Sports program, including nationally recognized teams like Boxing, Hockey, Rugby, and Triathlon.
Previous responsibilities at Navy Academy Athletic Association (NAAA), included serving as the Executive Director of the Blue-N*-Gold, the membership component of the Naval Academy Athletic Association.
Under his direction, contributions to the Blue-N*-Gold tripled during his tenure.
Dunn served on the NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Committee from 2006 to 2012, including a three-year stint as chair, 2009-2012.
He also coordinated Navy’s responsibilities as host institution for the 2009 Frozen Four, the NCAA Division I Hockey Championship, in Washington, DC.
Prior to Navy, Dunn spent six years working at the College of William & Mary, where he started as Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities & Operations before being promoted to Associate Athletic Director for Internal Operations in 2004.
Before his time in Williamsburg, he worked at the University of Michigan as a Facilities and Game Management Supervisor, Project Administrator in the Sport Facilities Research Laboratory, Lecturer/Graduate Student Instructor and Yost Arena Building Supervisor.
He also served as an Olympic Stadium Cluster Supervisor for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Dunn earned his master’s degree in kinesiology from the University of Michigan in 1994 and his bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California at Berkeley in 1993.
He has also completed coursework towards his doctorate in urban, technological and environmental planning through the University of Michigan.
Dunn currently lives in Annapolis with his wife, Jaime, and their daughters, Nora and Kate.”
Kery Davis
Guess who hired current W&M Head Football coach Mike London in his previous gig at Howard University? That’s right, it was Kery Davis, Howard University’s current Athletics Director.
Excerpts taken directly from his Howard bio:
On Wednesday, September 9, 2015, Howard University President, Dr. Wayne Frederick announced that Kery D. Davis has been appointed as the University’s new Director of Athletics. The announcement was made during a press conference at College Hall South.
“After an extensive national search, Kery emerged as the ideal candidate to spearhead the future of Howard’s Division I athletics program,” Frederick said. “As an experienced student-athlete, sports executive, and administrator, Kery comes to Howard with the requisite skills and passion to lead our athletics program.
Under Kery’s leadership, I have no doubt that Howard’s student-athletes will continue to flourish at the highest levels on the field and in the classroom. We are excited to have him as our new director of athletics, building on the foundation of excellence established by Shelley Davis, who served as an exceptional interim athletics director.”
Davis joins Howard University with an impressive track record of accomplishments during his most recent tenure with HBO Sports. Davis is credited with negotiating lucrative multiyear agreements for HBO with major league sports as well as an impressive roster of professional athletes.
Davis provided leadership, oversight and both strategic and creative direction to various functions at HBO; and successfully negotiated numerous multiyear professional boxing contracts with Oscar De La Hoya, Roy Jones, Jr., Lennox Lewis, Shane Mosley, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
Davis holds a law degree from Cornell University, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Dartmouth College.
Troy Austin
Exceprts taken directly from Austin’s bio on the Duke website:
Troy Austin returned to his alma mater in October of 2018 as the Senior Associate Director of Athletics for Internal Affairs.
At Duke, Austin oversees athletics human resources, athletic medicine, sports performance, sports nutrition, behavioral health and equipment while serving as the lead sport administrator for the men’s and women’s cross country and track and field programs.
Austin’s return to Duke followed a successful stint as the Director of Athletics at Longwood University in Farmville, Va., where he guided the Lancer athletic department beginning in April of 2008 and spearheaded the school’s transition to NCAA Division I active membership. On the national level, he has served on the NCAA Division I Council as well as the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship committee.
Austin joined the Longwood athletic department in 2005 as the Director of Development. One year later, he served as the interim Director of Athletics before earning the full-time appointment. Prior to moving to Farmville, Austin was the director of program development and marketing relations for the National Football League Coaches Association (NFLCA) from 2003-05.
A native of Orange, N.J., Austin lettered four seasons (1997-98-99-00) as a defensive lineman at Duke, served as a team captain in his final campaign and earned the institution’s William J. Griffith Service Award. He graduated in 2000 with a degree in sociology and, in 2003, earned a master’s degree in sports leadership from the VCU Center for Sports Leadership. In addition, he received a Management Development Program Certificate from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education in 2009.
William & Mary’s “Olde Guarde“
Peel Hawthorne
Below is an updated version of W&M’s official webpage for Hawthorne:
“After 26 years as head coach of William and Mary field hockey, Peel Hawthorne moved off the field and into the W&M Athletics department, being named the Associate Athletics Director for Student Services/Senior Woman Administrator in 2013-14.
Hawthorne currently has responsibilities with each of the Tribe’s Olympic Sports programs, Academic Services, Compliance, and Student Support.
One of the most successful coaches in the history of Division I field hockey, Hawthorne ranks highly among active and all-time coaches in victories, games coached, and tenure.
She was the fifth-longest tenured active head coach in Division I, and one of just seven coaches all-time to reach 30 seasons.
In terms of wins, her 306 victories made her just the 13th coach in Division I to surpass 300 wins, and she ranks 10th among all active coaches.
Hawthorne led William and Mary to the NCAA Tournament twice, in 2000 and again in 2002.
She mentored 36 players to a total of 54 all-region honors and has coached seven All-Americans, including five (Anna Davis, Kelli Duggan, Ann Ekberg, Kelly Giles and Claire Miller) in the last 10 seasons.
The 26-year Tribe head coach produced 112 all-conference performers and 6 Players of the Year.
Hawthorne’s players also enjoyed success in the classroom.
The CAA Commissioner’s List, which honors student-athletes from each school who held a 3.2 GPA while competing each season, included 60+W&M names since 2007 and 17 in both 2008 and 2009.
Hawthorne’s contributions to the campus community have reached far beyond the confines of the field, as she has served on numerous committees and in several leadership roles across campus.
In 2005, she was a member of the W&M Athletics Task Force and was part of the NCAA Re-Certification Subcommittee on Equity and Welfare.
In the summer of 2011, she was elected to the College’s Professionals & Professional Faculty Assembly (PPFA) for a three-year term.
Hawthorne is the first coach to be elected to the PPFA governing committee. She is also actively involved in the planning and organizing for W&M’s annual Celebration of Women’s Athletics.
A field hockey and lacrosse standout at none other than W&M, Hawthorne graduated with a bachelor’s of science degree in physical education in 1980.”
Al Albert
An alum of the College who is revered throughout Williamsburg and beyond, if you cut Albert open, you’re destined to see him bleed Green and Gold.
Albert has been a staple in the William & Mary community for decades; there is perhaps no one on Earth who represents W&M Athletics better than Al.
A former W&M student-athlete (’69) where he played both lacrosse and soccer, he would soon return to the ‘Burg in ’71 to coach both the men’s lacrosse and soccer teams.
Eventually focusing his time as the head coach of W&M soccer, Albert amassed an astounding 401–187–64 record.
Stepping down after 33 years, which included a run of 29 consecutive winning seasons and several conference championships, Albert retired his post in 2003.
Currently, Albert is the Associate Director of Development at William & Mary, where he has run the Tribe Club since January 2004.
The only knock on Albert would be his age — already 71, W&M couldn’t expect Al to #1 immediately take the job and #2 be in it for an extended period of time.
But if the College is looking for someone to right the ship and lead W&M for a handful of years, Albert could be the guy for the job.
The William and Mary Sports Blog 
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