Augustana - Josh Morton
Josh Morton was introduced as the new leader of Augustana athletics in April 2018 and officially began a month later. Since his introductory press conference, Viking athletics has continually focused on three cornerstones of the department: enhancing the student-athlete experience, being active and engaging with the Augustana and Sioux Falls community and winning with integrity.
With an intense focus on student-athletes, Morton’s early initiatives included contracting a sports dietitian through the Sanford Sports Science Institute and the addition of a fueling station for student-athletes. In addition, and through a local partnership, all Augustana student-athletes now have access to post-workout recovery drinks.
Under Morton’s leadership, Augustana has seen an NCAA Woman of the Year, two NCAA Today’s Top-10 Award Winners and four Academic All-America Team Members of the Year.
Morton’s first year also saw Augustana athletics sign a multi-year apparel agreement with BSN Sports to outfit all Viking programs with Nike gear. (Full Bio)
?Bemidji State - Britt Lauritsen
Lauritsen joined Bemidji State after eight years at Washburn University, located in Topeka, Kan., where she also teaches Sports and the Law in Washburn’s School of Law. Washburn is a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association and sponsors 16 intercollegiate sports.
In her role as compliance coordinator, she ensures that Washburn’s athletic department complies with NCAA, Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association and institutional rules and regulations. She provides rules education for athletics staff and others, monitors coaching and recruitment activities, provides rules interpretations and tracks eligibility and progress-toward-degree for approximately 435 student-athletes. She also budgets, manages, and distributes approximately $2.3 million in athletic scholarships, and oversees Washburn’s Name, Image and Likeness policy for student athletes.
In addition to her work in athletics and as an instructor, she has facilitated “Bringing in the Bystander” training, meant to teach students how to recognize and prevent sexual assault on campus and establish a community of responsibility, and she mentors first-generation students through the university’s First Gen Program. (Full Bio)
?Bowling Green - Derek van der Merwe
With a background as a student-athlete, university administrator and athletics administrator, Derek van der Merwe has a forward-thinking approach to leading Bowling Green State University Athletics. His focus is on building a strong, community-driven athletics department while establishing a culture and support system for sports programs to compete for championships.
Since joining BGSU as Director of Athletics, van der Merwe has made a profound impact on the department, driving record-breaking growth in fundraising, student engagement and academic achievement. Under his leadership, BGSU Athletics has set new records for unique donor participation and strengthened NIL opportunities for student-athletes, ensuring they are supported both on and off the field. His commitment to student success has also been evident in the classroom, as BGSU student-athletes have achieved the highest grade point average in school history, along with an impressive 91 percent graduation rate. Additionally, van der Merwe has championed the integration of BGSU’s innovative Life Design program across the athletic department, equipping student-athletes with the tools to build meaningful careers and fulfilling lives beyond their playing days. (Full Bio)
?Ferris State - Steve Brockelbank
Brockelbank, who previously served as vice president and director of athletics at Muskingum University, in New Concord, Ohio, is a 1991 graduate of Eastern Michigan University. In addition, he holds master's degrees from two other Michigan institutions, Grand Valley State University and Spring Arbor College. During the last 30 years at the high school and college levels, his track record of success as a coach and athletic administrator helped Brockelbank emerge as Ferris' top choice.
Brockelbank was announced as the new vice president and athletic director of Muskingum University in January 2018 after serving as an associate athletic director at Miami University, a Division I institution from the Mid-American Conference, based in Oxford, Ohio. At Muskingum, an NCAA Division III institution, Brockelbank led a department with 55 coaches and staff members and managed all budget and personnel decisions. Serving on the president's cabinet and senior leadership team at Muskingum, Brockelbank also contributed to the university's enrollment and advancement efforts. (Full Bio)
?Lake Superior State - Tory Lindley
Lindley, a native of Suttons Bay, MI, brings 16 years of experience in Division I administrative experience and over 30 years of leadership experience and staff management to LSSU. Most recently, Lindley served at Youngstown State University as their Deputy Athletic Director for the past two years. In his time at Youngstown State University, he has created external partnerships resulting in multi-faceted healthcare services agreements, provided a performance enhancement services reorganization and performed key roles in strategic planning, and advancements in diversity and inclusion.
Other career highlights for Tory include serving as the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) President for three years where he managed responsibility over the association's $10.5 million operations budget. In 2023, Tory was a NATA Hall of Fame Inductee. He served in many different roles at Northwestern University from 2002-2020 including as the Senior Associate Athletic Director, the Associate Athletic Director, and as Assistant Athletic Director. Lindley has a wide variety of publications related to athletic training and has given over 150 professional presentations on risk management and sports medicine related topics. (Full Bio)
?Michigan Tech - Dr. Suzanne Sanregret, Ph.D.
Suzanne Sanregret, Ph.D., has continued Michigan Tech's traditions of excellence both on and off the field of competition. Her vision within the Huskies' athletic programs and work on conference and national committees has positioned Michigan Tech as a leader in collegiate athletics.
Along with the 15 varsity sports under her, Sanregret also oversees the University's Recreation Department and Michigan Tech's Outdoor Adventure Program. She is the Title IX coordinator for Athletics and was added to the President's Council in 2018.
Sanregret, who was named 2009 Division II Central Region Athletic Director of the Year, served a five-year stint on the NCAA Division II Management Council from 2006-11. During that time, she was the chair of the multi-division NCAA Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee and member of other NCAA committees on strategic budget planning, championships, legislation, and membership. She has served on the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Regional Ranking Committee, Division II Men’s Basketball Regional Ranking Committee and the Division II Men’s Basketball National Committee. (Full Bio)
?Minnesota State - Kevin Buisman
Kevin Buisman, first introduced as MSU’s Director of Athletics on July 26, 2002, begins his seventeenth year with Minnesota State Athletics. Behind a deft combination of sound decision-making on key internal and external strategies, Buisman has left himself well-positioned to make what will likely become an indelible and lasting impact on Maverick athletics over the long term.
Behind this high level of achievement and his ongoing commitment to administrative excellence within a campus environment, Buisman was cited by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) as one of the 2013-14 Under Amour Athletic Directors of the Year. Building on that, Buisman saw his second team national champion crowned in 2017 when the softball program cruised along to a school record-setting 64-7 mark. More recently, Minnesota State completed the 2017-18 campaign ranking eleventh in the final Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings, which recognize the top athletic programs in the country. A model of consistency, the program has achieved a Top 10 finish ten times in the last 14 years. The program’s successes have also helped to attract major donor investment and in December 2016, Buisman was able to help secure the largest ever departmental gift to the University in the form of a $5 million scholarship endowment from Sanford Health to benefit student-athletes seeking a career in health services. (Full Bio)
?Northern Michigan - Rick Comley
Rick Comley took over as NMU's athletic director on August 22, 2022. Comley, a longtime Wildcat hockey coach, is on his second stint as Northern's AD, having served the University in that position for 13 years from 1987-2000. He brought NCAA Division I national men's hockey championships to both NMU (1991) and Michigan State University (2007).
?St. Thomas - Dr. Phil Esten, Ph.D.
With more than 20 years of experience at the Division I level, Dr. Phil Esten returned to his alma mater in January of 2019 to lead the University of St. Thomas Department of Intercollegiate Athletics as Vice President & Director of Athletics.
Esten wasted little time making an impact on Tommie athletics. Faced with the task of finding a new conference home for all 22 St. Thomas varsity sports just five months in to his tenure, Esten secured an invitation to the Summit League and approval from the NCAA to reclassify directly from Division III to Division I, a move never been done before in modern intercollegiate athletics history. Led by an invite from the Summit League, invitations from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) women's league, the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), and the Pioneer Football League soon followed, giving all Tommie teams a Division I home. The process took just 14 months in total.
Esten has also restructured the St. Thomas Athletic Department leadership into five key strategic business verticals: Administration, Development, Internal Operations, External Affairs, and Student-Athlete Welfare and Development. As a part of this restructuring, Esten has instituted a sport administration model, which further supports a student-athlete centric administrative model. He has also overseen the hiring of an Associate Athletic Director for Compliance and a Director of Academic Support Services for Athletics. In total, Esten has added six new positions to the department in his first 20 months. (Full Bio)