Southland Conference Names Stephanie McDonald Associate Commissioner
6/4/2007 12:00:00 AM | General
June 4, 2007
FRISCO, Texas - Stephanie McDonald, a veteran college athletics administrator, has been named Associate Commissioner for Institutional Services of the Southland Conference, league commissioner Tom Burnett announced Friday.
Currently the Assistant Athletic Director for Student Services at Southland member Stephen F. Austin State University, McDonald will join the league's staff in June. She will direct the Southland's compliance programs, including the application and interpretation of NCAA legislation.
"We are very pleased to announce that Stephanie is joining us in the Southland Conference office," league commissioner Tom Burnett said. "She brings an accomplished record of service in college athletics at the campus, conference and national levels. Her expertise in compliance-related matters and student-athletes services will be very beneficial for the Southland and our member institutions."
She will also oversee the Southland's involvement in the National Letter of Intent program, monitor the league's collective effort within the NCAA Academic Performance Program, and administer the NCAA Coaches' Certification Exam and NCAA Special Assistance Fund disbursements.
McDonald will serve as the liaison to the league's Compliance Committee and work daily with campus compliance directors and other senior-level administrators.
"It is a great honor for me to be a part of the Southland Conference staff," McDonald said. "After several years on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University, a member institution, I have a great respect for the membership of this league and the conference staff. Southland Conference athletic programs work hard to graduate student-athletes while providing the best possible collegiate experience."
In her current role at Stephen F. Austin, which began in August 2003, McDonald oversees academic services for over 375 SFA student-athletes, and serves as the athletic department's liaison to the academic departments, and to the admissions and registrar's offices. She also serves as the athletic department's Senior Woman Administrator, and is an advisor to SFA's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
McDonald is completing a three-year term on the NCAA Division I Committee on Academic Performance, the group that has developed the national Academic Performance Program.
Prior to joining Stephen F. Austin, McDonald was the Associate Commissioner for Sports Programs and Women's Basketball at the Mid-American Conference for four years. She has also directed athletic compliance programs at North Carolina State and Cleveland State.
While at the MAC, McDonald served terms on the NCAA Division I Management Council and the Division I Championships and Competition Cabinet.
McDonald earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Texas Woman's University in 1993, and completed her juris doctorate at the University of Texas Law School in 1996.
A native of Killeen, Texas, she and her husband, Tony Mitchell, have two children, Halle (4) and Christian (3 months).
