Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
BATON ROUGE, La. — Julie Cromer, a highly decorated athletics director and proven leader through transformational change in college athletics, has been hired as Executive Deputy Athletic Director and Chief Operating Officer for LSU Athletics, Director of Athletics Scott Woodward announced Friday.
Cromer arrives in Baton Rouge from Ohio University, where she has served as Director of Athletics since 2019. Prior to her tenure with the Bobcats, Cromer worked at the University of Arkansas as senior deputy athletics director and associate vice chancellor.
The hire is contingent upon a satisfactory background check and approval by the LSU Board of Supervisors.
“Julie is a widely respected leader in college athletics who brings tremendous experience at the highest levels to our university,” Woodward said. “Not only is her perspective as an established athletic director invaluable to charting our path forward, but her previous experience at the executive level impacting several institutions will help drive our continued growth and success. Julie’s expertise and vision will be major assets to LSU as we navigate this transformational time in college athletics, and we’re excited to welcome her to Baton Rouge.”
At LSU, Cromer will oversee the daily operations of the athletics department, collaborating with university leadership, senior athletics administration, and campus and community partners to support LSU Athletics’ success. She will have administrative supervision of all 21 varsity programs, while also spearheading revenue generation, capital projects, strategic initiatives and more.
“LSU is one of the most recognizable and successful brands in college athletics, and I am grateful to Scott Woodward for this opportunity to help the department reach greater heights,” Cromer said. “I look forward to working with our student-athletes, coaches, staff, campus partners, alumni and donors to elevate LSU Athletics.”
Cromer’s involvement at the highest levels of intercollegiate athletics has earned her national recognition. Most recently, she was named 2024 NACDA Athletics Director of the Year, 2023 Nike Executive of the Year by Women Leaders in College Sports, and was named as a member of the Sports Business Journal 2022 Game Changers class.
In 2022, Cromer co-chaired the NCAA’s Transformation Committee with SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, and identified opportunities to modernize Division I college sports. She currently serves on the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee and the FBS AD Association and NACDA Executive Boards and completed a previous appointment to the NCAA Division I Board of Directors.
At Ohio University, Cromer’s tenure has been marked by excellence across the board. On the field, the Bobcats won Mid-American Conference championships in football, men’s basketball and women’s soccer. Ohio Football has won at least 10 games in each of the last three seasons, including an 11-3 record in 2024, culminating in a dominant MAC Championship victory and Cure Bowl win. In the classroom, Ohio student-athletes posted record-setting Graduation Success Rates at 94% in 2022 and 2023.
Ohio has consistently ranked among Group of Five leaders in attendance, broadcast audience and social media reach for football and men’s basketball. Since 2022, football season ticket revenues have doubled. Cromer led Ohio Athletics to record philanthropic support, including a $2 million commitment in 2022 to enhance women’s sports, the largest gift to women’s athletics in school history. She also led sport-specific fundraising efforts that resulted in upgrades to football team facilities within Peden Tower, multiple locker room and sport training areas within the Convocation Center, and both the Ohio Softball Field and Bob Wren Stadium.
Prior to her time in Athens, Cromer served as a member of the executive leadership team at Arkansas, overseeing sports administration of all 19 varsity sports, and serving as the sport administrator for football, women’s basketball and various Olympic sport programs. Sports under her direct supervision won two national championships and 17 Southeastern Conference titles. Over the course of her five-year tenure, she supervised units and initiatives focused on revenue generation, broadcast services, fan engagement, community outreach, coaching personnel, athletic performance, competitive success, and student-athlete health, well-being and development. During that time, she led an external engagement team responsible for generating approximately $90 million in revenue each year through ticket sales, media rights, licensing and sponsorships.
Cromer has also served in senior administrative roles at Indiana University and at the NCAA, where she served as director of academic and membership affairs.
Cromer received an MPA in Policy Analysis from Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and a Bachelor’s Degree from the Honors College of Missouri State University.
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