University of Miami Names New Director of Athletics

The University of Miami announced today that Shawn M. Eichorst has been hired as the new director of athletics.

“Shawn Eichorst has the skills, experience, and philosophy to elevate UM athletics and exceed our highest expectations,” said University of Miami President Donna E. Shalala.

Since 2009, Eichorst has served as deputy athletic director at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where his responsibilities under Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez have included serving as the department’s COO, overseeing daily operations, legal affairs, trademark and licensing, and merchandising. Under his leadership, the department operates from a $90 million budget, which consists of 23 intercollegiate athletics programs, 850 student-athletes, and 320 full-time employees. He has been involved in the construction of a new $100 million ice hockey/swim facility and athletic performance center for football.

From 2004-2006, Eichorst served as the University of South Carolina’s senior associate athletic director for administration, and he served as interim director of athletics from June 2005 to July 2006. The football team was bowl-eligible each year during Eichorst’s tenure, and the baseball program competed in the 2004 College World Series. Working with the Gamecocks, he had direct oversight of football (Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier) and baseball (Ray Tanner) programs. Additionally, he facilitated and supervised multimillion-dollar facility projects, including a state-of-the-art football training facility, partnership/sponsorship agreements, and substantial organizational personnel and policy growth.

“I am truly humbled and honored to have the tremendous opportunity to lead and build upon the University of Miami’s rich tradition of excellence in athletics. Under President Donna Shalala’s great vision, passion, and leadership, the University of Miami has quickly developed into not only the best institution in the state of Florida, but one of the top research universities in the United States,” said Eichorst. “The success of our student-athletes – academically, athletically, and socially – will always be our foremost objective, and I am looking forward to working collaboratively with our coaches, staff, student-athletes, campus administration, faculty, board of trustees, donors, alumni, fans, and community members to realize our full potential.”

A native of Lone Rock, Wisconsin, Eichorst earned his J.D. at Marquette University Law School in 1995 and his bachelor’s degree magnum cum laude in business from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played football (all-conference defensive back), was team captain in 1990, and a three-year letterwinner. He returned to Marquette as an adjunct law professor, teaching courses in sports law.

He practiced law in Milwaukee until 1999, when he was hired by UW-Whitewater as director of athletics, a position he held until 2003. Under his tenure, UW-Whitewater developed into one of the nation’s top Division III athletic programs, with four top-10 percent National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Directors Cup finishes; one NCAA team championship; two NCAA team national runner-up finishes, and five individual NCAA champions. The program also featured an NCAA Student-Athlete of the Year for Wisconsin, 30 academic and 74 athletic All-American selections, and seven NCAA postgraduate scholarship winners.

Eichorst and his wife, Kristin, have three sons.