The University of San Francisco announced this morning that they have hired a new athletic director. The Dons will operate under the guidance of Scott Sidwell, who will be replacing Dr. Gary Nelson who served as interim AD after Debra Gore-Mann resigned last fall.
The USF position marks Sidwell's first job as an athletic director after previously serving as executive senior associate athletic director at Syracuse University. At Syracuse, Sidwell headed all external operations for the perennial BIG EAST Conference power and directed the department's marketing, communications, ticket sales and media properties efforts. He supervised the Orange Club, the official fundraising organization for Syracuse athletics, and served as the lead senior associate athletic director for campus relations and strategic planning.
USF Law School Dean Jeff Brand served as chair of the search committee and is excited about the selection:
"After an exhaustive and highly competitive national search, we are thrilled to have Scott Sidwell as our new Athletic Director. He comes with a proven track record and a broad range of experience in NCAA Division I athletics, including his current work in one of America's top programs. He has all the skills to insure that our student-athletes achieve academic and athletic success and to bring prominence to USF Athletics."
At Syracuse, Sidwell played a large role in marketing the Orange athletic programs. He led the major campaign for all capital projects and facilities, managed all major gift planning and donor naming opportunities, and structured the "SU Tomorrow" capital campaign.
As director of the Orange Club, Sidwell worked on the $19M Carmelo Anthony Basketball Facility and a major capital campaign to upgrade Manley Field House. Past major projects with the Orange Club included major renovations to the Manley Field House lobby, locker rooms, and construction of three new suites and an executive club suite.
USF will be Sidwell's first athletic director post, and he takes over a program on the upswing. USF's women's cross country team secured back-to-back WCC championships (2009-10) and the men's golf program recently captured its second league title in three seasons. In basketball, USF posted a remarkable turnaround, highlighted by the program's first 10-victory WCC campaign since 1982 and a semifinal appearance in the 2011 CollegeInsider.com postseason tournament.