Laurita Named New Athletic Director

By Kevin Schrock

@KRock_6

Following the resignation of The University of Findlay’s longtime athletic director Stephen Rackley, the Findlay Athletic Department was left with a huge void to fill.  The Univeristy announced on June 26 that Brandi Laurita, who had served as an assistant athletic director at the University since 2008, would take over as the new athletic director.

Laurita has already put together an impressive resume at The University of Findlay and has been instrumental in the department’s success through the last seven years. Along with her position as assistant athletic director she has also doubled as the senior women administrator since 2008. Laurita has also been the advisor of the student athlete advisory committee (SAAC), and she was responsible for the oversight and distribution of athletic scholarships at the University as well. The Pennsylvania native has also been placed on a number of different committees for the NCAA and GLIAC. Two examples of these are the GLIAC Executive Committee and the GLIAC Management Council.

In addition to her impressive resume that she has already built at the University, Laurita also took an extra step to prepare herself for her most recent promotion. She took part in a NCAA/ADA Division II Director of Athletics Mentoring Program. This is a program designed to prepare assistant and associate athletic directors for the next step in their careers.

Laurita also has some coaching experience under her belt as well. She was the head cross-country coach at Converse College and also spent two years as the assistant volleyball coach there. In addition to coaching at Converse she was the director of compliance and spent three years as an athletic academic resource coordinator.

Laurita attended college at St. Andrews Presbyterian College where she earned her degree in physical education. She was also a two sport athlete in college playing volleyball and softball.

Rackley announced that he was leaving after the 2015 season to take over the athletic director position at Alma College in Alma, Michigan. Rackley had been at The University of Findlay for 16 years as the athletic director. Some of the highlights that Rackley oversaw during his tenure included a national championship victory in men’s basketball, as well as GLIAC championships in men’s basketball, men’s golf, and wrestling. Prior to Findlay Rackley was at Marshall where he served as associate athletic director for operations.